Golden Bears Outscore Saint Josephâ??s 11-2 in Doubleheader Sweep

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (March 12, 2016) - The Western New England University baseball team piled up 21 hits and allowed just two runs on its way to a doubleheader sweep of Saint Joseph's College of Maine today in non-conference action at the Chain O'Lakes Complex in Winter Haven, Florida.

The Golden Bears posted a pair of three-run innings en route to a 6-1 victory over the Monks in the first game of the twinbill, before recording a 5-1 triumph in the second contest. Western New England improves to 3-0 on the season, while Saint Joseph's drops to 4-5.

Western New England 6, Saint Joseph's 1
Senior second baseman Eduardo Colmenares (Caracas, Venezuela) fueled the Golden Bear offense in the opener, going 3-for-4 at the plate with a home run, a double and three RBI. Senior outfielder Doug Milne (Nesconset, N.Y.) went 2-for-4 and drove in a run, while freshmen Alex Loparco (Riverside, Conn.) and Erik Lacaire (Worcester, Mass.) also turned in 2-for-4 efforts.

Senior lefthander Tom Mahoney (Granville, Mass.) earned the win on the mound after scattering nine hits over six innings and allowing just one earned run. Mahoney retired 12 of the 25 batters he faced with ground outs, and induced three double plays.

Junior shortstop Max McCoomb (South Berwick, Maine) led Saint Joseph's with a 3-for-4 effort out of the leadoff spot, accounting for the Monks' only run with a solo homer. Classmate Brett Barbati (Melrose, Mass.) added three hits, including a double, and junior Nick Malatesta (Wrentham, Mass.) took the loss after failing to get an out in the first inning.

Saint Joseph's struck first on McCoomb's leadoff home run in the top of the first, but it was all Western New England the rest of the way. The Golden Bears answered with three runs in the bottom of the frame, as Colmenares, Milne and junior Daniel Morin (Salem, N.H.) all delivered RBI singles.

The Monks advanced runners into scoring position in the second, fourth and fifth innings, but double plays ended the threat on two of the three occasions. Western New England then tacked on three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth, as Colmenares followed freshman Ben LaCroix's (Branford, Conn.) RBI double with a two-run shot over the left center field fence.

Saint Joseph's threatened one more time in their final at-bat, loading the bases with three singles off of Western New England junior reliever Jacques Boilard (Brimfield, Mass.), but he retired the last two batters he faced to seal the win.

Western New England 5, Saint Joseph's 1
Colmenares, Loparco and Morin all registered multi-hit performances in game two, while freshman southpaw Bob Hamel (Southwick, Mass.) earned the win in his first collegiate outing after allowing just six hits and one unearned run in 5.2 innings of work.

Junior Dennis Meehan (Gardiner, Maine) had two hits for the Monks, and freshman Joey Murphy (Derry, N.H.) drove in the team's only run. Freshman righthander Grayson Jennings (Bedford, N.H.) gave up five runs on ten hits in 6.1 innings, dropping to 1-1 with the loss.

Saint Joseph's got on the board first for the second straight game, plating a run in the bottom of the second on Murphy's RBI single to right field. The lead was short lived, however, as the Golden Bears went ahead 2-1 in the top of the third on a pair of two-out RBI singles by Colmenares and Morin.

Western New England added another run in the fourth, as Loparco led off with a double before coming around to score on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Jared Rosenblatt (Avon, Conn.). The Golden Bears capped the scoring in the seventh, when LaCroix recorded an RBI single and later scored on a wild pitch.

Western New England returns to the Chain O'Lakes Complex tomorrow, where they will take on SUNY Brockport at 3:30 p.m.