SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (3/31/2026) – The Nichols College baseball team dropped a Conference of New England matchup to Western New England, 14-4, on Tuesday afternoon at Trelease Park.  

Nichols falls to 8-8 overall (2-2 CNE), while Western New England improved to 10-8 (3-1 CNE). 

The Bison struck first in the third inning, as sophomore Andrew Rocca delivered an RBI single to score Kyle Birks and give Nichols a 1-0 lead. However, the Golden Bears responded in a big way in the bottom half of the inning, scoring six runs by capitalizing on defensive miscues and timely hitting. The biggest swing of the inning was a three-run home run from Tyler Waterbury to take a 6-1 advantage. 

The Golden Bears continued to build their lead with two runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh, extending the margin to 11-3. Nichols showed some fight late, scoring twice in the seventh inning on a wild pitch and an RBI groundout by junior infielder Anthony Hackert. The Bison added another run in the eighth when Rocca tripled and later scored on a groundout by Julian Galvan, but the game ended an inning early when the Golden Bears scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to make the final score 14-4. 

Rocca led Nichols offensively, going 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI, while Hackert and Galvan each drove in a run. The Bison was limited to six hits in the contest. 

On the mound, Mitch Brown was tagged with the loss, allowing five runs with one earned over 1.1 innings in relief. Ashton Hammond got the start, while Nichols used multiple arms throughout the game. 

The Bison continues their road trip tomorrow, when they travel to UMass Boston to play against the Beacons. First pitch is set for 3 PM at Monan Park.