SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 20, 2026) – The Western New England baseball team hung a four-spot on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning and followed that up with seven runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to bury the Blue Jays of the University of Saint Joseph on Friday afternoon from Trelease Park, defeating USJ, 14-4.

Records:

• University of Saint Joseph: 7-4
• Western New England: 7-4

How it Happened:

First Inning:

• Both teams started the game on time, scoring runs in the first inning. Saint Joseph opened the game with a single on the first pitch and scored with two outs in the frame, taking advantage of an early miscue on the mound from Tanner Wall, who threw the ball away on a failed pickoff attempt to allow the runner to move into scoring position. Dom Scalia singled up the middle, giving the Blue Jays a 1-0 lead. 
• Western New England quickly retaliated, scoring four runs in the frame, all with two outs. Corey Kilroy laced a two-out double to left field, while Tyler Kornacki came up with an RBI single, evening the score at one. Connor Cowern then launched his first home run of the season, second of his career, giving the Golden Bears their first lead of the game, 3-1. Noah Schermerhorn continued the scoring for WNE, tripling to right field to score Alex Grenier, who reached on a hit by pitch, giving the Golden Bears a 4-1 lead after one inning of play.

Third Inning:

• USJ answered back with a run in the top of the third inning, seeing Sam Balducci single to right field to score Tyler Carlstrom, who reached on a single to begin the frame. In trouble in the frame, Tanner Wall settled in and picked up a strikeout and groundout to end the inning without further damage from the USJ offense. 

Fourth Inning:

• The Golden Bears put up a crooked number in the bottom of the inning to take full control of the game. The inning saw all nine batters come to the plate once. Tyler Waterbury led off with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and moved to third base on an infield single by Jack Gamache. Leo Paragarino then reached on a fielder's choice, while a run scored for WNE following an error from USJ, giving WNE a 5-2 lead. 
• Corey Kilroy cleared the bases in an unconventional way, hitting a ground ball to the USJ third baseman, who misplayed the grounder to advance Gamache and Paragarino to score, while another error on the same play by the USJ infield allowed Kilroy to move all the way around the bases and give WNE an 8-2 lead. WNE continued to score in the inning with Kornacki (2B) and Cowern (BB) reaching, while Alex Grenier singled and advanced on another USJ error, scoring both runners, giving WNE a 10-2 lead. Mark Zigmont scored Grenier on a sacrifice fly to end the inning, as WNE put up seven runs on four hits, while USJ made three errors in the inning. The Golden Bears took an 11-2 lead out of the inning. 

Fifth Inning:

• USJ came back for one run in the top of the fifth after Dom Scalia produced a sacrifice fly, pulling the Blue Jays within eight, 11-3. 
• Western New England left two on base in the bottom of the inning.

Sixth Inning:

• Western New England got back-to-back hits to open the bottom of the sixth, a double from Grenier and a single from Schermerhorn, while Mark Zigmont singled for WNE's third straight hit, scoring a run, giving the Golden Bears a 12-3 lead. WNE produced four hits in the frame but came up with one run. 

Seventh Inning:

• Tanner Wall's final inning of work saw the junior give up just one more run in the frame to finish the afternoon by tossing seven strong innings, giving up eight hits and four runs, two earned, without walking a batter and striking out six. 

Eighth Inning:

• The Golden Bears scored their final two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, seeing Bobby Black pick up a pinch-hit single, while Tyler Waterbury and Jack Gamache both walked to load the bases for pinch hitter Andrew Florek, who delivered a two-RBI single, giving the Golden Bears a 14-4 lead. 

Ninth Inning:

• Sullivan Quirk finished off the Blue Jays in the ninth, striking out one, giving the Golden Bears a 14-4 victory. 

Inside the Lines:

• Tyler Kornacki led the WNE offense with four hits in six at-bats, scoring twice and collecting one RBI. 
• Leo Paragarino, Alex Grenier, Noah Schermerhorn, and Tyler Waterbury all recorded two hits each in the win. 
• Mark Zigmont, Connor Cowern, and Andrew Florek helped WNE with two RBIs each. 
• Tanner Wall earned his first win of the season, going seven innings, giving up eight hits and four runs, two earned, while striking out six. Kyle Welsh and Sullivan Quirk finished off the final two innings for WNE on the mound. 
• JJ Fox led USJ with three hits in five at-bats. Dom Scalia had two RBIs. The Blue Jays committed five errors in the game. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England hosts Russell Sage College on Saturday, March 21, at 12:00 PM and 2:30 PM for a doubleheader.