JWU Wins Slugfest to Claim GNAC Baseball Championship

JWU Wins Slugfest to Claim GNAC Baseball Championship
May 7, 2023
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Courtesy of Johnson & Wales Communications.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Johnson & Wales (RI) University baseball team captured its third-consecutive Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship with a come-from-behind 19-13 win over Anna Maria College Sunday afternoon at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Athletic Complex.

Juniors Jack Magane and EJ Leone, along with sophomore Trevor Juan, all drove in three for the Wildcats (28-13), who rallied back from an 11-2 fourth-inning deficit for their 11th consecutive win. Trailing by as many as eight runs, JWU struck for sixth runs in its half of the sixth to take a 14-13 lead before putting up a '5' spot in the eight to pull away from the AMCats (22-20) and advance to the NCAA Tournament.

Down 7-0 after one, the Wildcats got a pair of runs back in the bottom of the second to make it 7-2, but the AMCats tacked on four in the top of the fourth to push their lead to nine (11-2). An RBI double off the bat of junior Thorin Sanchez-Guerra in the fourth, along with RBI singles from Magane and Leone, helped JWU slice its deficit to 11-8 after four.

Anna Maria extended its lead to 13-8 with two runs in the fifth before the Wildcats exploded for six runs in the sixth to move in front 14-13. Sophomore Owen Davis' sac fly opened the scoring, followed by a bases-loaded walk to freshman Jack Obert, a sac fly from Juan, a two-run double from Leone, and a bases-loaded HBP to sophomore Xavier Botelho.

In the eighth, Magane laced a two-run double and Obert plated another with a triple to right as the Wildcats pushed the lead to six runs (19-13). Freshman and Tournament MVP Aidan Vining closed out the win with a scoreless ninth, striking out one. Classmate Max Randazzo came on in relief of starter Kyle Cutler and worked three innings in relief to earn his first collegiate win. Randazzo came on with the Wildcats behind 11-8 and held the AMCats to four hits and two runs with two walks and a pair of strikeouts in three innings of work.  

Obert, Davis, and Botelho each finished the contest with two RBI while Magane collected four hits and scored three times. Leone, Obert, and junior Riley Hasson all earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team.