Box Score DUDLEY, Mass. (April 9, 2025) – The Western New England Baseball team were doomed by their lack of timely hitting on Wednesday afternoon in Conference of New England action where the blue and gold pounded out 14 hits but just one came for extra bases while the visitors left an astounding 12 runners on base in a 7-5 loss to the Bison of Nichols College. 

Records:

• Western New England: 12-11, 1-5 CNE
• Nichols College: 12-10, 4-4 CNE

How it Happened:

The first two batters would reach for the blue and gold, both by hit by pitch, with Canon Marshall and John Bova getting aboard early. Jack Loftus would then single with one out in the inning to load the bases for Leo Paragarino who ripped a single to left field to give Western New England a 1-0 lead after the top of the first inning. WNE came up with two hits in the inning but left two runners on base. Jacob Hobart would make his usual weekday start on Wednesday afternoon and would get into trouble early, seeing Nichols load the bases with only one out, a similar sequence to what WNE did in the top of the first. Adam Pivacek delivered an RBI single for Nichols to tie the game at one while Julian Galvin notched a two-RBI single up the middle as the Bison would bring their first eight batters to the box in the bottom of the first and came away with a 3-1 lead after one inning. Hobart would give up all three runs while surrendering four hits but left two Bison on base. Connor Cowern had the lone hit in the top of the second inning for Western New England but the next three hitters in the lineup would go down quickly as the Golden Bears would not be able to add any runs to the board. Nichols would take advantage of a double from Anthony Hackert to lead off the bottom of the third inning. Hackert would score on two wild pitches from the WNE starter, taking a 4-1 lead after two innings. 

Nichols looked to be running away with the game early as Hobart would not miss any bats in his three innings of work. The Bison came away with two more runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a commanding 6-1 lead over the Golden Bears. Galvan picked up his third RBI of the game while Collin Harty notched an RBI on a groundout that brought the Bison lead to five. Jacob Hobart would last just those three innings in the game, coming away with eight hits and a walk without striking anyone out. Seven of the eight hits off the senior were singles but Hobart tossed three costly wild pitches in the game.  Though down by five, Western New England would slowly chip away at Nichols in the top of the fourth and fifth innings to get back within two. The first three Golden Bears would single in the top of the fourth inning with Leo Paragarino, Andrew Florek, and Connor Cowern quickly loading the bases. Antonio Galizia would earn a sacrifice fly RBI to move the score to 6-2 in favor of Nichols with runners on first and second with one out following. The Golden Bears would go down swinging in their next two plate appearances and added just the one run in the inning. Alex Slezak would replace Hobart in the bottom of the fourth and would get the Bison down in order for the first time in the game. 

In the top of the fifth inning, Western New England again began the inning with three hits, a story they've written already in the game. Back-to-back outs for the Golden Bears would plate runs with Leo Paragarino grounding out while Andrew Florek picked up a sacrifice fly to plate another, seeing WNE get within two, 6-4. The Golden Bears produced two runs and three hits in the inning overall. Slezak continued to run right through the Nichols lineup, delivering two innings without giving up a hit while striking out three. The Golden Bears would make more noise with their bats in the top of the sixth inning, getting back-to-back knocks from Galizia and Jack Gamache while Canon Marshall would be put aboard on a walk to load the bases with no outs. Western New England would fail to score in the frame, grounding into a double play and adding an additional ground ball out to keep the Bison ahead 6-4. 

Greg Nivison would come into the game for the Golden Bears in the bottom of the sixth and would pick up a strikeout and two flyouts, keeping Nichols at six runs overall in the game. Nichols would get back on the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh when captain of the Bison baseball team Liam Flynn launched his fifth homer of the season, giving Nichols a 7-4 lead. The lead for Nichols would hold after seven innings of play. The Golden Bears would threaten in the eighth inning after Connor Cowern led off the inning with a double while Jack Gamache and Canon Marshall would walk, loading the bases with one out. WNE would add a run on an RBI walk from Ryan Montini, moving the score to 7-5. Jack Loftus would then groundout on a tough play made by the Nichols shortstop to keep the inning moving as WNE would trail by two with just three outs remaining. Nivison would get the Bison in order in the bottom of the eighth inning leaving the final three outs for John Steed to get for Nichols. Steed would get the first two Golden Bears on a flyout and groundout but Connor Cowern continued to hit, going 4/5 on the day, singling to center field to extend the game but that would be as far as WNE would get as Steed recorded his second save of the season and holding on to win the game for Nichols by a final score of 7-5. 

Inside the Lines:

• Connor Cowern led the offense for WNE with four hits in five plate appearances while scoring one run. Cowern picked up one extra base hit in the game. 
• Three other Golden Bears collected two hits each in the game including John Bova, Jack Loftus and Leo Paragarino. Paragarino came up with two RBIs for WNE.  
• The Golden Bears would be doomed by the 12 runners they left on base in the game overall, loading the bases multiple times. 
• Jacob Hobart tossed just three innings in the start, giving up eight hits and six earned runs. The WNE bullpen of Alex Slezak and Greg Nivison tossed the rest of the five innings, giving up just one hit combined while striking out six. 
• Of their 14 hits on the afternoon, just one came for extra bases for Western New England. 

Up Next on The Schedule:

• WNE returns home for the first time in over ten days to take on Wheaton College (Mass.) on Thursday, April 10 at 4:00 PM.