Baseball Splits with Clark to Open Season

DAVENPORT, Fla. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology baseball team opened the 2025 campaign with a split against Clark University. The Leopards took an early lead and never looked back in game one, winning, 18-3, before falling in the nightcap, 5-4. In game two, the black & Gold battled back from a 4-0 deficit through five innings and tied the game in the top of the seventh.

GAME ONE:  Wentworth 18, Clark 3

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Wentworth got all the runs it would need in the bottom of the first, coming across the plate seven times. With runners on second and third, Matt Favazzo singled in Jake Prisco and A.T. DiPina. After Jake Samela walked and Christian Roncal singled to load the bases, Matt Robinson had a bases-clearing triple, and with two outs, Robinson scored on a balk. Mike Sibert walked and came all the way around to score when Prisco reached on a dropped fly ball.
• Favazzo opened the second inning getting hit by a pitch and went to second on a Samela single. Roncal drew a walk to load the bases and Robinson drove in a pair with a single. Josh Turcotte scored Roncal with a sacrifice fly and Cyle Archer tripled to bring in Robinson. A ground out by Sibert scored Archer.
• Clark got on the board in the top of the third, scoring on a fielder's choice and a double but the bottom of the fifth saw the Leopards tack on three more. Prisco led off with a walk and went to second on a DiPina single. Favazzo brought Prisco in with an RBI single and DiPina went to third, coming in to score on a wild pitch a batter later. Roncal delivered an RBI single, which brought in Favazzo.
• With one out in the sixth, John Golebieski had a pinch-hit single and pinch runner Alex Dayton went to second when Sibert Walked. Both runners moved up on a passed ball and Prisco was hit by a pitch to load the bases. DiPina walked in Dayton and Favazzo drove in two with a single.
• Favazzo was 4-for-4 with five RBI. Robinson was 2-for-4 with four RBI, while Samela and Roncal had two hits apiece.
• Nigel Cross picked up the win, allowing two runs on six hits and striking out five. Chase Carder pitched the seventh, allowing a run on two hits and striking out one batter.

GAME TWO:  Clark 5, Wentworth 4

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• With two outs in the top of the first inning, Favazzo and Samela singled, putting runners on first and second. However, a fly out ended the Leopards' threat. In the bottom of the inning, the Cougars got on the board when Ryan Bonja walked and Ryan Caufield followed with a two-run home run.
• An RBI triple in the third inning gave Clark a 3-0 lead, while the Cougars took a 4-0 lead in the fourth inning on an RBI single.
• The Black & Gold scored three times in the sixth to pull within a run. Samela and Roncal led off with back-to-back singles and a throwing error on a fielder's choice by Robinson allowed Samela to score and moved Roncal to third. Turcotte followed with a ground out to drive in Roncal and make it 4-2. Devon LaPierre was hit by a pitch and stole second, putting runners at second and third. An infield single from Golebieski plated Robinson, however, a caught stealing of home and a fly out left the score at 4-3.
• With one out in the top of the seventh, Favazzo walked. Bryden Marcotte pinch ran for Favazzo and went to second on a single from Samela. Roncal delivered an RBI single, which tied the game when Marcotte scored. However, with the go-ahead run on third, back-to-back strikeouts ended the inning.
• On the first pitch of the bottom of the seventh, Clark hit a home run to win the game.
• Samela was 4-for-4, while Roncal was 3-for-4. On the mound, Alec Peruzzi allowed four runs on eight hits, while striking out four in six innings. Connor Whitehead took the loss, pitching to one batter in the seventh

ALL-TIME SERIES:

• Today marked the first time since the 2009 season the two teams have played each other and was the 10th and 11th meetings overall.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth plays Wartburg and Marian (Wis.) on Monday.

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