SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 11, 2026) – The Western New England baseball team took two wins on Saturday afternoon at Trelease Park from the visiting Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University, seeing Andrew Florek walk off game one of the doubleheader, while a seven-run sixth inning sparked a comeback needed to complete the Conference of New England sweep. 

Records:

• Western New England: 12-15, 5-4 CNE
• Johnson & Wales University: 8-17, 2-7 CNE

How it Happened (Game 1): 

First Inning:

• The Wildcats started the scoring right away as leadoff hitter Ryan Ducey singled, stole a base, and came around to score on an RBI single from Yedan Diaz, giving the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. Diaz came around to score after advancing on a wild pitch and scoring on a groundout, putting JWU ahead 2-0. WNE's Tanner Wall got out of the inning after getting a strikeout looking and a caught stealing from Antonio Galizia, keeping the Wildcats ahead by two after the top of the frame. 
• Western New England quickly bounced back in the bottom half of the inning. Leo Paragarino and Tyler Waterbury reached on singles to start the inning, while an infield error from JWU brought the bases loaded with no outs. Corey Kilroy's fielder's choice RBI scored one, while a big hit from Greg Nivison brought two runners home for the Golden Bears, giving Western New England a 3-2 lead after one inning. 

Second Inning:

• The Golden Bears added to their lead in the bottom of the second inning as Antonio Galizia, who caught a pair of runners stealing through two frames, also produced on offense with a leadoff double, and eventually came around to score on a Tyler Waterbury sacrifice fly, giving Western New England a 4-2 lead. 

Fourth Inning:

• Western New England took advantage of a pair of infield errors by the Wildcats to score two more runs in the bottom of the fourth. A groundball from Jack Gamache was fumbled by the Wildcats to score Mark Zigmont, while another error put Paragarino on base. The Golden Bears scored on the second sacrifice fly of the game from Tyler Waterbury, as WNE took a 6-2 lead after four innings. 

Fifth Inning:

• Johnson & Wales got a run back in the top of the fifth off Tanner Wall after Ryan Ducey doubled with two outs in the frame, followed by an RBI single from Yedan Diaz, getting the Wildcats back within three, trailing 6-3.  
• The Golden Bears punched back in the bottom of the inning for a pair when Mark Zigmont recorded a two-RBI single up the middle of the diamond, scoring Tyler Kornacki and Greg Nivison, who both had hits to begin the frame, as WNE led 8-3 after five.

Seventh Inning:

• JWU stormed back and put up a three-spot in the top of the seventh inning to get right back in the game. The Wildcats took advantage of the fourth Western New England error with two out to score all of their runs. A two-RBI double from Jack Obert got JWU back within three, while an RBI single from Dimitri Staphos put the Wildcats back within two, 8-6. 

Ninth Inning:

• The Wildcats had a ninth-inning rally in them, coming away with a two-out, two-RBI double from Staphos to tie the game at eight. One batter later JWU's Diego Taveras broke the tie and gave the Wildcats their first lead since the first inning on an RBI single to take a 9-8 lead. 
• Western New England bounced back and avoided adding to its losing streak after Tyler Kornacki singled, and both Greg Nivison and Mark Zigmont walked to load the bases. Pinch hitter Andrew Florek provided heroics for the Golden Bears, walking off the game with a two-RBI single to give Western New England the 10-9 victory. 

Inside the Lines:

• The game featured a combined 19 runs, 22 hits, and eight errors between the two teams. 
• Andrew Florek provided the game-winning hit for Western New England in a pinch-hit opportunity to score two runs. 
• Tyler Waterbury, Greg Nivison, and Mark Zigmont all had a pair of RBIs for the Golden Bears in the victory. 
• Tanner Wall went the first 6.2 innings for Western New England, giving up seven hits and five runs, three earned, walking one and striking out seven. 
• Brody Rogers, Jack Lewis, and Lucas Kamoen saw action out of the WNE bullpen. 
• WNE improves to 5-5 against JWU in conference play all-time. This was the first meeting between the teams as core members of the Conference of New England. 

How it Happened (Game 2):

First Inning:

• After giving up the game in the bottom of the ninth in game one, the Wildcats soared for four runs in the top of the first inning of game two off WNE's Colby DiMenna. Dimitri Staphos continued to make an impact for the Wildcats in the weekend series, clearing the bases with a three-RBI double, and came around to score on a wild pitch, as JWU took a 4-0 lead after the top of the frame. 
• Western New England cut the lead in half after one inning, rallying with two outs in the inning as Ryan Montini and Greg Nivison picked up RBI singles, putting the Golden Bears on the scoreboard, trailing 4-2 after one inning. 

Second Inning:

• The Golden Bears came around to score once more in the bottom of the second as Leo Paragarino reached on an infield error by JWU, while Tyler Waterbury doubled to left field, scoring Paragarino, cutting JWU's lead down to one, 4-3. 

Fourth Inning:

• Both teams threatened for runs in the fourth inning, JWU with a hit with two down in the inning and WNE reached on another error from the Wildcats, but neither could score as both Brett Nickerson for JWU and Colby DiMenna for WNE settled into the game.

Sixth Inning:

• Western New England broke the game wide open in the bottom of the sixth, scoring seven runs on seven hits in the frame to take a commanding 10-4 lead over the Wildcats. The Golden Bears batted around in the frame, as Ryan Montini led off with a single, followed by a hit by pitch to Greg Nivison. WNE tied the game on a Noah Schermerhorn two-RBI double. Jack Gamache brought home another run to give the Golden Bears a lead, 5-4. A wild pitch then scored another to give the Golden Bears a two-run lead. Two more big hits in the inning came from Leo Paragarino and Corey Kilroy, who both delivered a pair of two-RBI singles, giving the Golden Bears a 10-4 lead after seven innings of play. 

Seventh Inning:

• WNE added on to its lead in the bottom of the seventh inning as Jack Gamache picked up his second hit of the game, producing his second RBI, giving the Golden Bears an 11-4 lead. 

Eighth Inning:

• The WNE pitching, consisting of Colby DiMenna, Aiden Bisaillon, and Kyle Welsh, flew through the JWU order after a rocky opening inning, limiting JWU to two hits through seven innings. 

Ninth Inning:

• JWU added one run in the top of the ninth, but it was not nearly enough to overcome Western New England's seven-run sixth inning, as the Golden Bears swept the Wildcats, coming away with an 11-5 win.

Inside the Lines:

• Jack Gamache, Leo Paragarino, and Corey Kilroy all had two-RBIs each for the Golden Bears. 
• After falling behind early, WNE was aided by its seven-run sixth inning to come away with the win. 
• Colby DiMenna earned his fourth win of the season, going the first five innings, giving up five hits and four runs, walking just one and striking out six. 
• Aiden Bisaillon, Kyle Welsh, and Ian Brais finished off JWU out of the bullpen. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears look to make it a CNE season sweep over the Bison of Nichols College, traveling to Dudley on Tuesday, April 14 at 3:30 PM.