DUDLEY, Mass. (April 30, 2024) – The Western New England baseball team found themselves down 7-2 with just six outs remaining in the contest, though clawed their way back with a five-run eighth inning and would eventually fall short in extra innings to the Bison of Nichols College, who loaded the bases in the tenth and walked the game off to take an 8-7 win on Tuesday afternoon.
 
Records:

• Western New England: 19-16, 7-5 CCC
• Nichols College: 28-9, 9-5 CCC

How it Happened:

In an important CCC contest that would have major implications for seeding for the upcoming Commonwealth Coast Conference tournament, the Golden Bears would threaten to score in the top of the first inning but would not be able to cross the plate. John Bova would single to left field, while Sean Jamieson would walk. A 5-4-3 double play would quickly end the inning for the Bison's starting pitcher, Clark Churchill would end the inning. Nichols would come around with the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning when Tanner Wall, starter for WNE, got a ground ball with the bases loaded, though Andrew Croteau would beat out the throw to run a double play by the Golden Bears, giving the Bison a 1-0 lead.

That lead for Nichols would not even last a half inning, as Western New England would plate two in the top of the second inning to take their first advantage of the contest. Cody Waterbury led off the top of the second with a single to center, while Ryan Montini would walk. After Nichols would settle in and get two quick outs on another double play, Aaron Cole would drive in two with a single to right center field, giving Western New England a 2-1 lead. Tanner Wall would set the Bison down in order in the bottom of the second, hanging on to Western New England's 2-1 advantage.

Seven Bison would bat in the bottom of the third inning, which resulted in five hits and three runs as Nichols took a 4-2 lead. Will Kleinhenz delivered an RBI single, while Andrew Croteau picked up his second and third RBIs of the afternoon to give the Bison the two-run lead. Wall would induce Western New England's first double play of the afternoon, getting out of a jam on a 5-4-3 putout. The Golden Bears would not be able to capitalize on an opportunity in the top of the fourth when Cody Waterbury and Trey Young would reach on singles while Aaron Cole would be hit by a pitch, though the Golden Bears would leave the bases filled as the Bison would get out of the inning unscathed.

Tanner Wall would last the first 3.1 innings for the Golden Bears, giving up nine hits to the Bison without walking or striking out a batter in the contest, giving up four runs, all earned. Troy Donohue would replace the first-year in the bottom of the fourth and would get the top two batters in the Bison order to pop out and fly out to end the inning. The Bison would add two runs in the bottom of the fifth and an extra run in the bottom of the seventh off Donohue, leaving the Golden Bears with a five-run deficit, trailing 7-2 with six outs to go in the contest.

A two-out rally for the Golden Bears would be the spark the visitors needed, quickly erasing Nichols' five-run lead to even the game in the top of the eighth. Trey Young and Aaron Cole recorded singles, pulling Clark Churchill from the contest. Patrick Sawyer would enter for the Bison and would give up a big fly to Paul Villecco in his first at-bat, as the graduate student would go deep for the third time this season. John Bova would follow up the three-run blast with a double of his own as the Golden Bears continued the hit parade. Sean Jamieson would single to left field to drive in Bova and would advance to second base on the throw to the plate, putting another runner in scoring position. Jack Loftus would get the job done with a double of his own, scoring Jamieson and tying the score at seven. Troy Donohue would close out the eighth after Nichols would get two base runners, though he would not score.

The ninth inning would see both teams get a base runner, though neither team would cross home plate, sending the game to extra innings. The Golden Bears would be retired in the tenth in order while the Bison would get a single, hit by pitch, and back-to-back walks to quickly end the contest with a final score of 8-7 in favor of Nichols, as the Bison would defeat the Golden Bears on their home field in back-to-back seasons.

Inside the Diamond:

• Both teams punched out 16 hits in the game each. John Bova and Trey Young led the Golden Bears with three hits each.
• Paul Villecco's three-run home run in the top of the eighth inning would spark Western New England's comeback, with Sean Jamieson and Jack Loftus picking up RBIs in the inning.
• Andrew Croteau had three on Nichols's 16 hits, coming away with three RBIs.
• Troy Donohue went 4.2 innings in relief for Western New England, giving up five hits and three runs while walking three and striking out one.
• WNE walked just twice in the game, coming into the game third in the nation in walks drawn this season.
• The Golden Bears fall to Nichols on the road in back-to-back seasons.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England is back in action on Wednesday, May 1, as they welcome No. 25 Eastern Connecticut State University to Trelease Park for their final non-conference game of the season.