Kaitlyn Cowden/The Student
Assistant Sports Editor
As the rain cleared up, the Western New England University baseball team made the trip down the road to take on the Springfield College Pride on Wednesday afternoon. For Coach Mark Simeone and his team, the result was not what they were looking for as they saw their two-game winning streak come skidding to a halt in a 10-1 defeat to the Golden Bears.
The loss dropped SC to 8-5, and improved Western New England’s record to 8-6. The starter for the Pride, sophomore right-hander Eric Chase, took the loss, as he gave up three runs (one earned) over 4 2/3 innings. He scattered five hits, while walking three and striking out one. Chase fell to 1-2 on the year.
The Golden Bears were led by junior shortstop Kyle McKelvey, who recorded four hits in all, and played a flawless game of defense for WNE. Other members of the team chipped in as they tallied 16 hits and did not commit a single error on defense.
The Pride only had half as many hits, and were not able to overcome the early hole that they put themselves into. The Golden Bears scored one run in the first, and then scored nine runs in the last six innings to put the Pride away. Sophomore right-hander Brendan Nugent, the second pitcher to enter the game, picked up the win for Western New England as he gave up the Pride’s only run in 4 2/3 innings of work. Nugent improved to 3-0 on the season.
The news is not all bad for the Pride, as sophomore third basemen Frank Calabrese and senior second basemen Mike Corletta each had two hits. Also, freshman center fielder Steve Starr tallied another hit from the leadoff spot, and looks to be a good young player for SC that provides a spark at the top of the lineup. Searching for more positivity, Simeone had to be happy with the way right-handed reliever Craig Zysk was able to get a quick out after being summoned from the pen.
Another piece of good news for the Pride is that they can get right back on the horse tomorrow. They are looking to build on their strong start, and build some positive momentum as they move into conference play.
“We’re quickly going to put this one behind us and move on,” said sophomore left-hander Jon Medici, who pitched in the last inning for the Pride. “We’re taking every day one at a time, and we’re looking forward to coming out strong against Westfield tomorrow.”
The Pride will play today as they travel to Westfield State. The game will begin at 3:30 pm, and the Pride will clean the slate and come in with positive mind-sets as the season plugs along.
Dylan Tully may be reached at dtully@springfieldcollege.edu