Box Score
MANSFIELD, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team concluded a two-day, two-game offensive onslaught by scoring 17 runs for the second time in 24 hours, pushing across ten runs in its final two at-bats in a 17-2 non-conference victory over Western New England University Wednesday evening at the Eastern Baseball Stadium.

Now 9-2 at home with two regular-season home games remaining, Eastern (25-11) collected 18 hits – seven of them for extra bases – in improving to 41-9 all-time against Western New England (20-16).

In his sixth start of the season, senior righty Alex Mach (Rockfall) pitched at least five innings for the third time. Mach allowed only one unearned run on six hits over five innings while fanning five without a walk for his third win in three decisions.

While Mach was shutting down the Golden Bears, Eastern took command of a 6-0 lead by scoring five runs in the fourth on five hits, then pulled away by tacking on ten runs in its final two at-bats on seven hits, four walks, a sacrifice fly, two stolen bases, a wild pitch, passed ball and an infield error.

In the game, 11 different players had at least one hit, 12 crossed the plate at least once, and eight drove in one or more runs.

Senior centerfielder Ray Leonzi (Trumbull) and senior rightfielder Josh Cofrancesco (Southington) each drove in three runs, with junior first baseman J.T. Clark (Bristol) knocking in two. Batting leadoff, Leonzi took over the Little East Conference lead with his tenth and 11^th home runs of the year – a two-run shot off the right field foul poll by the lefty hitter in the five-run fourth, and a solo blast leading off the six-run eighth. Leonzi also leads the LEC in runs (52), total bases (103), walks (30) and is fourth in stolen bases (18) and has also been perfect on 80 defensive chances as one of only three players in the conference with a perfect fielding percentage on as many as 80 chances.

Senior leftfielder Alejandro Soriano (Hartford) extended his hitting streak to 12 when the cleanup hitter doubled and scored leading off the second, and singled and scored leading  off the fourth (Soriano is ranked second in the LEC with 61 hits. Soriano has reached safely in all 36 games this year and the last 38 over a two-year period.  Senior catcher Hank Penders (Wethersfield)  recorded his team-leading 14^th double – tops in the Little East – leading off the seventh, while Soriano doubled for the 11^th time this year in the second inning.

Cofrancesco and Clark each had three hits while sophomore DH Ian Moser (Bellingham, MA) reached three times on walks and scored twice.

Three players came off the bench to contribute hits in the six-run eighth inning: Seniors Nick Montagna (Carmel, NY) and Ryan Salvador (Waterford) and first-year player Sean Fallon (Bethel). Fallon doubled and scored as a pinch hitter, Salvador singled in a run and scored as a pinch hitter, and Montagna singled in a run and scored his second run of the game after pinch running for Cofrancesco and scoring in the seventh.

In relief of Mach, junior righty Connor Willett (Rockfall), first-year righty Stephen Rickert (Williston, VT) and sophomore lefty Joseph Barlovic (Bergenfield, NJ) each pitched one scoreless inning, combining for five strikeouts and only one walk. Willett induced a fly ball to Leonzi and two swinging strikeouts after Mach was lifted after WNE cleanup hitter Jack Loftus doubled leading off the sixth (Loftus also blasted his eighth home run of the year with two out in the eighth for the Golden Bears' only earned run.)

Including Tuesday's 17-0, seven-inning LEC home shutout of Western Connecticut State University, Eastern has amassed 34 runs, 35 hits (14 for extra bases) and a .461 batting average. Eight pitchers have combined on a 0.56 ERA and the defense has committed only two errors for a .966 fielding percentage. In those two games, Leonzi, Fallon, Penders, and Soriano each have had four hits, with Leonzi totalling ten total bases and senior third baseman Emmanuel Zaiter (Miami) collecting three extra-base hits. In those two games, Moser reached seven times with a double and six walks and scored four runs, as did Soriano and senior shortstop Preston [Irby] Cosme-Cruz (Bridgeport). In Tuesday's shutout of Western Connecticut first-year lefty Jake Shaughnessy (Franklin, MA) pitched a one-hitter with five strikeouts over four innings in his first career start
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Eastern closes out the regular season Friday at noon, hosting the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in a Little East doubleheader on Senior Day. The six-team LEC tournament gets underway Wednesday at the site of the No. 1 seed.