Western New England University

BEVERLY, Mass. (May 7, 2026) – The Western New England baseball team took extra innings to come away with a win in the Conference of New England Baseball Tournament on Thursday afternoon, defeating second-seeded University of Hartford by a final score of 8-4 in ten innings to advance in the winner's bracket on Friday afternoon. 

Records:

• No. 3 Western New England: 23-18
• No. 2 University of Hartford: 21-14-1

How it Happened:

First Inning:

• As the road team, the Golden Bears batted first and delivered two runs in the opening frame to take a quick 2-0 lead, taking advantage of two errors by the Hawks. Ryan Montini reached on a single, advanced on a groundout, and scored on a miscue in the outfield by the Hawks, giving WNE an early lead. Corey Kilroy's at-bat produced a throwing error to score another in the inning, as WNE came away with the early lead in the game. 
• Colby DiMenna opened the game with an unconventional 1-2-3 inning, hitting a batter, but getting Hartford's Alek Popovich to ground into a double play, ending the inning.

Second Inning:

• The Golden Bears saw Hartford pick up back-to-back singles to open the bottom of the second, but saw John Russell line into a triple play, as WNE got out of the inning without giving up any runs. 

Fourth Inning:

• DiMenna could only keep Hartford quiet until the fourth, when the Hawks scored a run in the inning with two outs, seeing Jackson Ciccone pick up an RBI single, cutting WNE's lead in half. 

Fifth Inning:

• WNE responded with a run in the top of the fifth to take the two-run lead back. Tyler Waterbury doubled to lead off the inning and came around to score when Corey Kilroy legged out an RBI single in the infield, giving Western New England a 3-1 lead. 
• Hartford responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning, as the two-run WNE lead did not last long. Zaynn Godbee produced an out for the Hawks, but scored one, getting Hartford back within one, 3-2. 

Seventh Inning:

• The top of the seventh got Western New England their two-run lead back, as Ryan Montini launched a solo home run to left center field, a no-doubt shot, giving the Golden Bears a 4-2 lead. WNE produced three hits in the inning, but only came around with one run. 
• Hartford tied the game in the bottom of the frame when both John Russell and Patrick Joseph picked up RBI singles. Jack Lewis replaced DiMenna in the frame after the bases were loaded, but Lewis pulled out some WNE magic, getting a strikeout and a flyout to end the threat, keeping the game tied at four. 

Tenth Inning:

• Both teams' relief pitching shut down each other's offense, forcing extra innings. Western New England exploded for four runs and four hits in the tenth to take an 8-4 lead. Corey Kilroy was hit by a pitch, Connor Cowern singled, and Greg Nivison walked, loading the bases. Noah Schermerhorn singled down the left field line to score WNE's first run of the inning, followed by a two-RBI single from Tyler Waterbury, giving the Golden Bears a 7-4 lead. Ryan Montini finished off the inning of hits with an RBI single to left center field, giving the Blue and Gold an 8-4 lead. 
• Hartford led off the bottom of the tenth with a single, but the final out of the game recorded by Jack Lewis was a popout to keep the threat contained. Jason Pinsonnault came out of the WNE bullpen and tossed seven pitches, six of which were strikes, getting a pair of strikeouts to give the Golden Bears an 8-4 victory, keeping WNE in the winner's bracket of the CNE Tournament. 
   

Inside the Lines:

• Ryan Montini led WNE with three hits over six at-bats, picking up two runs and two RBIs in the win. 
• Corey Kilroy was 3-for-4 in the game, picking up an RBI. 
• Tyler Waterbury, Noah Schermerhorn, and Jack Gamache all had two hits for Western New England. 
• Colby DiMenna lasted 6.1 innings, giving up 12 hits and four runs, didn't walk a batter, and struck out one. 
• Jack Lewis tossed three strong innings for the Golden Bears, giving up just two hits, walking one, and striking out three. Jason Pinsonnault finished out the game with the final two strikeouts. 
• WNE improves to 5-2 all-time against Hartford. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England will take on No. 1 Endicott College on Friday, May 8, at 12:00 PM, with the winner pinching their ticket to the CNE Championship game.