Baseball Edged by Western New England in CCC Twinbill

HAVERHILL, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College baseball team dropped a pair of narrow decisions to Western New England Friday evening at Trinity Stadium, falling 5-3 and 3-2 in extra-innings.

The Lions slide to 5-12 on the spring and 0-4 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. The Golden Bears improved to 5-8 overall and 2-2 in league play.

Jeremy Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) paced Eastern Nazarene with three base knocks, two RBIs, two runs scored and two stolen bases. Justin Wagner (Oklahoma City, Okla.) finished with three hits, three stolen bases and two runs scored on the day. Cameron Fiorentino (Uxbridge, Mass.) posted two base hits, two RBIs and one run scored.

In game one, the Golden Bears utilized a four-run fifth inning to edge the Lions 5-3.

Eastern Nazarene got on the board in the bottom of the third, scoring once to claim a 1-0 edge. Justin Wagner rounded third and crossed the plate on a single up the middle off the bat of Jeremy Wagner.

Western New England erupted for four runs in the top of the fifth inning to grab a 4-1 lead. Kyle Maglio, T.J. Wyrebeck, Doug Milne and Daniel Morin all picked up RBIs in the frame.

The Golden Bears tacked on a run in the sixth to widen the margin to 5-1 as Kevin Marciano drove in Maglio with a single to centerfield.

The Lions cut the deficit to 5-2 in the home half of the sixth as Fiorentino motored home on a groundout by Rocco Martinelli  (Panama City, Panama).

Eastern Nazarene pulled to within two runs with a score in the seventh as Jeremy Wagner scored on a groundout to first base by Fiorentino, 5-3.

Frank Fusco (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) pitched 4.1 innings in his third start of the season and registered four strikeouts. Antonio Ortegon (Haltom City, Texas) and Eric Shea (Rossmoor, Calif.) each posted one strikeout in 1.1 innings of relief.

In the nightcap, Western New England prevailed 3-2 in extra innings.

The Golden Bears struck early in the game, pushing across a run in the top of the first inning. Wyrebeck scampered home from third on a wild pitch.

Western New England doubled its advantage to 2-0 in the top of the fifth as Marciano singled to score Matt Anziano.

The Lions knotted the game at 2-2, tallying twice in the bottom of the fifth inning. After Justin Wagner led off with a single and stole second and third base, Jeremy Wagner beat out an infield single as Justin Wagner dashed home. Jeremy Wagner came around to touch the dish as Fiorentino laced a single to left field.

The Golden Bears plated the eventual game-winning run in the top of the eighth inning. Brett Morgan drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs to give Western New England a one-run lead.

Fiorentino hurled 7.1 innings and fanned seven batters in his third start of the year. Brent Houle (Westfield, Mass.) threw two-thirds of an innings in his third relief appearance of the season and notched one strikeout.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene travels to the Ocean State to square off against Salve Regina April 6.