By Sean O’Neil
This past weekend saw Western New England University sports teams celebrate senior day. Beginning on Saturday, April 27, the baseball team faced off against Gordon College and honored seniors Aaron Cole, Henry Schowerer, Robert Zawacki, Kohtaro Shimada, Aidan Gowaski, Jared Kuryan, David Vignapiano, Troy Donohue, Cody Waterbury, Ryan Snow and Liam Wallace. The Golden Bears went on to mercy Gordon College in 8 innings behind Jared Kuryan’s second complete game of the season, ending the game early because of the mercy rule, with the winning score of 10-0. On the offensive side, Western New England University collected eight hits in the win, led by Waterbury, who launched two home runs and collected four RBIs.
The women’s lacrosse team shortly followed with a ceremony of their own honoring the likes of Faith Graveline, Ally Ferraro, Riley Franzo, Alexa Paoli, Julia Roman, and Emmy Burns. The G-Bears went on to defeat the University of New England in a high-scoring affair, 18-11. Junior Mia Celentano led the way, scoring seven times for the Golden Bears and grabbing her 100th career goal in the process. Riley Franzo and Faith Graveline split time in goal on Saturday as the two combined for 13 saves.
Later on that afternoon the men’s lacrosse team took center stage after honoring their seniors Joseph Bussinelli, James Wrynn, Rocco DeSimone, Michael Knapp, John Oliver, Andrew Huta, Joseph Contino, Quinn Mulcahy, Alex Henry and Liam Miller. The game that followed was another high scoring affair with UNE which saw the Golden Bears pull out on top 17-6. Nicholas Campagnone led the Golden Bears with five points as Dylan Hanley and Jack Houlden each contributed a couple of hat tricks of their own. This game also featured two players reaching career milestones, as Houlden tallied his 100th career goal and Brian Madden notched his 100th career point.
Finally, the Golden Bear softball team took the field on Sunday after a ceremony honoring Emilia Garcia, Taylor Keegan, Abby Apkarian, Kaleigh Blades, Madison Mason, and Lizzie Weston. WNE went on to beat the Keene State Owls in dramatic fashion, with a walk-off single by Taylor Keegan, to win 1-0 in eight innings. Keegan led the Golden Bears at the plate by going 2-for-4 with the walk-off RBI single. On the other side, Ava Blanchard shined as she pitched all eight innings, letting up only one hit and no earned runs while striking out five batters to earn the win.
