DUDLEY, Mass. (5/5/2026) – The Nichols College baseball team opened postseason play in dramatic fashion on Tuesday afternoon, outlasting Roger Williams University baseball, 11-9, in the Conference of New England first round at the Nichols Baseball Field. Despite going down twice in the game, the Bison rallied to take down the Hawks and advance to the CNE quarterfinals.
With the win, Nichols improves to 23-17 on the season, while Roger Williams ends their season at 16-22.
After falling behind 3-0 early, Nichols erupted for a six-run second inning to seize control of the game. Following a pair of baserunners, Julian Galvan and Anthony Hackert delivered RBI singles before Ryan Keating launched a massive grand slam to right-center, flipping a 3-0 deficit into a 6-3 Bison lead after two innings.
Roger Williams responded with steady offense, trimming the deficit to 6-4 in the third behind an RBI single from Noah Hester to left field before exploding for five runs in the fifth to reclaim a 9-6 advantage. The Hawks strung together six hits in the inning, capitalizing on a pair of Nichols errors to swing momentum back in their favor.
Nichols answered immediately. In the bottom of the fifth, Tyler Ladouceur came around to score on a Roger Williams fielding error by the shortstop to make it 9-7, setting the stage for another decisive rally in the sixth. Hackert sparked the sixth inning with a double before Keating drove him in with an RBI single. Later in the frame, Kyle Birks and Collin Harty delivered back-to-back RBI singles to plate two more runs, giving Nichols a 10-9 lead they would not relinquish. The Bison added an insurance run in the eighth when Birks drove in a run with a single, extending the margin to 11–9 going into the ninth inning.
On the mound, Nichols relied on a strong bullpen effort to close out the victory. Clark Churchill earned the win after working a key scoreless sixth inning, while Aidan Whitten followed with two shutout frames to stabilize the game. Whitten's strikeout to end the bottom of the eighth inning was the 100th strikeout of his collegiate career, achieving a massive milestone at a clutch time for the Bison. Mitch Brown shut the door in the ninth, picking up his second save of the season to secure the 11-9 postseason win.
Offensively, Keating led the charge with a game-high five RBIs, highlighted by his grand slam, while Hackert (3-for-5) and Birks (4-for-5, two RBIs) paced a 17-hit attack. Charles Macelhiney also added three hits in four at bats in the dominant offensive performance.
The Bison will travel to Beverly, Massachusetts, to face No. 1 Endicott College in the Conference of New England tournament quarterfinals on Thursday, May 7th. First pitch is set for 12 PM.