BEVERLY, Mass. - The University of Hartford baseball team earned a first round bye in the Conference of New England (CNE) Tournament after claiming the number two seed. The Hawks will take on a familiar foe in Western New England who defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology on Tuesday to make the championship pod. 

No. 2 University of Hartford Hawks (21-13-1, 14-4 CNE)
No. 3 Western New England University Golden Bears (22-18, 12-6 CNE)

Game Headlines:
The Hawks and Golden Bears will meet 45 minutes following #1 Endicott College vs #4 Nichols College in the CNE Championship Pod. The winner will move on to Friday, while the loser will need to defeat the loser of the first game of the day to stay alive in the tournament. 

Hartford Headlines:

• The Hawks will look to their offense during the tournament which has generated 255 runs this season while allowing just 211 in 2026. The long ball is also Hartford's friend as they launched 24 this season which is ranked 3rd in the CNE. 
• The offense is led by senior Jeremy Mangiameli (Middlefield, Conn.) who ended the year slashing .373/.472/.569 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with four homers, 33 RBIs and 30 runs scored. In CNE play Mangiameli hit .483 while slugging .800. Senior Jackson Ciccone (Danbury, Conn.) also put together a stellar season with a slashline of .362/.435/.526 with 13 extra base hits and 27 ribbys. Junior Alek Popovich (Dudley, Mass.) hit .331 with four homers and 29 RBIs this season, while junior JJ Romatzick (Stratford, Conn.) added a .310 average with 34 runs scored and 13 extra base hits. 
• Junior Anthony Bubba (Jefferson, N.J.) leads the pitching staff posting a 7-2 overall record this season in nine starts. Bubba ended the year with a 3.64 ERA with 58 strikeouts and a .220 opponent batting average over 59.1 innings. Senior Joe Dooley (West Hartford, Conn.) has been sensational in his comeback season going 4-2 in nine starts with a 2.08 ERA in 39.0 innings pitched. Dooley posted a .99 WHIP in conference play across three wins. 
• Senior Michael Featherstone (Ramsey, N.J.) is the star reliever for the Hawks posting a 1.57 ERA this season across 23 innings. Featherstone had 31 strikeouts over his 10 appearances and held a 1-0 record with four saves. Sophomore Michael Greco (Berkely Heights, N.J.) is another arm out of the bullpen to watch after posting a 3.06 ERA in 17.2 innings. Junior Sam Smith (Branford, Conn.) adds a 3.75 ERA across 12.0 innings. 
• Defensively Hartford ranks second in the conference with a .962 fielding percentage. 

Western New England Headlines:

• The Golden Bears rank 1st in the conference in hitting as the team posted a .320 batting average with 326 runs scored to rank 2nd. Tyler Waterbury leads Western New England with a .378 batting average with a team-high six homers and 32 RBIs. Waterbury ended the year with a 1.129 OPS with 43 runs scored. Tyler Kornacki is next for the Golden Bears hitting .373 with 32 RBIs and 14 extra base hits. Leo Paragarino adds an .365 average with 28 ribbys. Ryan Montini is the final Golden Bear hitting over .300 with a .359 average and two homers. 
• Tanner Wall is the ace for the Golden Bears with a 5-1 record and a 3.88 ERA. Wall did pitch on Tuesday going six innings so he will most likely be unavailable for the game Thursday. Colby DiMenna is the next in line for the start posting a 3.93 ERA and a 5-1 record. Across his 50.1 innings hes allowing 22 runs with 33 strikeouts. Jack Lewis is the other arm to watch out for making 15 appearances in 2026 with a 2-3 record and a 4.79 ERA. The other arm out of the bullpen to watch is Brody Rogers who threw 12 innings with a 3.00 ERA. Jason Pinsonnault is the saves leader for WNE with a pair in 13.2 innings. The Golden Bears are ranked 4th in the Conference in ERA with a 5.28 as a team. 
• Fielding wise the Golden Bears rank 4th with a .954 fielding percentage. 

All-Time Against Western New England:
The Hawks are 2-4 all-time against Western New England University with a 2-1 home record and a 0-3 road record. This season the teams split the home and home series with Hartford winning on March 24th and the Golden Bears winning on April 28th. 

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE OF NEW ENGLAND:
Originally founded in 1984 as the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), and reconstituted as the Conference of New England (CNE) in 2024, the CNE is an NCAA Division III athletic conference composed of 11 full member and five associate member institutions throughout the New England region. Its membership aims to provide student-athletes with a positive experience in their pursuit of excellence through high academic standards, quality competition, and a meaningful student life. The Conference administers championships in 21 intercollegiate sports.

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