DAVENPORT, Fla. (March 9, 2026) – The Western New England baseball team split the opening day of the RussMatt Invitational on Sunday night, dropping the first of two contests with the Polar Bears of Ohio Northern University 7-6 in nine innings before defeating ONU in the nightcap by a final score of 11-5.
Leo Paragarino went 7/9 across the three games with three doubles and three runs scored to lead the offense.
Records:
- Western New England: 1-2
- Ohio Northern University: 6-1
How it Happened (Game 1 – 7 Innings Scheduled):
First Inning:
- The Polar Bears struck for four runs in the top of the first inning off Tanner Wall, though Wall was charged with just two earned runs as the Golden Bears, who made no errors in their season opener last week at Springfield College, made a costly error to plate runs. ONU picked up three hits in the inning to go up 4-0 early.
- Tyler Waterbury picked up his first career collegiate hit, a double, to begin the bottom of the first, but the Golden Bears couldn't string together any runs to plate Waterbury, trailing after one full inning.
Second Inning:
- After the Polar Bears were set down in order, Leo Paragarino led off the bottom of the inning with a single to left field. Jack Gamache then reached on an error with one out to put runners on first and second, but a double play got Ohio Northern out of the inning unscathed.
Fourth Inning:
- With two outs in the top of the inning, Ohio Northern added its fifth run to the scoreboard, getting a solo home run from Kyle Callahan, giving ONU a 5-0 lead.
- Western New England picked up back-to-back hits in the bottom of the fourth, with Leo Paragarino notching his second hit of the game while Connor Cowern fought off four foul balls to reach on an infield single. Mark Zigmont's first career collegiate hit came with an RBI, as Zigmont singled through the left side of the diamond to plate one, putting the Golden Bears on the scoreboard. Tyler Waterbury drew a walk with the bases filled, plating another run for Western New England, who trailed 5-2 after the fourth inning.
Fifth Inning:
- Ohio Northern loaded the bases and threatened at the top of the inning, but a groundout ended the inning on a comebacker to Ian Brais, who replaced Wall on the mound for his collegiate debut, keeping the Polar Bears from extending their lead.
- Greg Nivison opened the bottom of the inning with a single, while Paragarino notched his third single of the game to put a pair of runners on. Connor Cowern delivered an RBI single for the Golden Bears, knocking the Polar Bears' lead down to two. After Gamache was hit by a pitch to load the bases, senior Alex Grenier pinch hit and picked up his first hit of the season, an RBI single through the infield, scoring one and keeping the bases loaded. The Golden Bears could not add any further runs in the inning, trailing 5-4 after five full innings.
Sixth Inning:
- Brody Rogers picked up a pair of strikeouts in the top of the sixth inning to hold Ohio Northern to just a one-run lead.
- Western New England tied the game on its first home run of the season, coming from Ryan Montini to lead off the bottom of the inning, tying the game at five. Western New England wasn't done there, seeing Greg Nivison double to left field, while back-to-back walks loaded the bases for the Golden Bears with two outs. Jack Gamache helped WNE erase Ohio Northern's lead and singled to left field, giving WNE a 6-5 lead after six innings of play.
Seventh Inning:
- The Polar Bears responded in the top of the seventh off Jason Pinsonnault, as ONU's Chase Armstrong delivered an RBI double with one out in the inning to tie the game at six. Pinsonnault got a big strikeout for the second out of the inning, while a groundout ended the inning.
- Western New England went down in order at the bottom of the inning, forcing extra innings in a seven-inning contest.
Ninth Inning:
- Ohio Northern added a run with a solo home run from Carson Stevens off Sullivan Quirk to take a 7-6 lead. Quirk gave up the lone hit in the inning, getting a pair of groundouts and a strikeout, leaving the game to the bottom of the ninth with the Golden Bears chasing a run.
- With two outs in the inning, Tyler Kornacki singled back up the middle to give the Golden Bears some life. Pinch hitter Andrew Florek matched Kornacki's effort with a single back up the middle himself, putting runners on first and second with two outs. The Golden Bears couldn't string together three hits in a row and fell by a final score of 7-6.
Inside the Lines:
How it Happened (Game 2 – 7 Innings)
First Inning:
- The teams switched sides, WNE playing as the visitors and ONU the home team. The Golden Bears couldn't pick up any early runs despite getting a leadoff walk to Tyler Waterbury.
- ONU was on the board in the bottom of the inning as Kyler Lapp singled up the middle off Colby DiMenna, driving home Benjamin West, who led off the inning with a single and a stolen base to give the Polar Bears the early 1-0 lead.
Second Inning:
- The Golden Bears quickly responded as Leo Paragarino doubled to left field and then stole third to lead off the inning, while Connor Cowern delivered an RBI single to tie the game at one.
- DiMenna retired the Polar Bears in order in the second inning, keeping the score tied, 1-1.
Third Inning:
- Western New England went down quietly in the top of the third while Ohio Northern loaded the bases with just one out and scored after a near double-play was turned by the Golden Bears, but a fielder's choice cost a run, giving ONU a 2-1 lead after three innings.
Fourth Inning:
- The Golden Bears picked up a run to even the score in the top of the fourth. Leo Paragarino continued his hot offensive start to the season, doubling and advancing on a wild pitch, while Tyler Kornacki came through with an RBI single to right field, tying the game at two. Ohio Northern could not answer in fourth, as the Golden Bears came up with an out at the plate to stay even after four full innings.
Fifth Inning:
- The Golden Bears registered four runs in the inning to take a 6-2 lead. Alex Grenier led off by reaching on an error by the Ohio Northern infield, while Corey Kilroy stepped to the dish to hit his first home run of the season, giving the Golden Bears a 4-2 lead. Western New England wasn't done there as Paragarino had his third hit of the game, this time a single, while Tyler Kornacki picked up an RBI single through the infield to score Paragarino, giving WNE a 5-2 lead. Noah Schermerhorn bounced out on a ground ball, but still scored another run for the Golden Bears, who ended the inning with four runs on three hits to take a 6-2 lead.
- The Polar Bears answered with a run in the bottom of the inning, getting a solo home run to back within three, 6-3.
Sixth Inning:
- Western New England got that run right back with a sacrifice fly from Corey Kilroy, who scored Tyler Waterbury, who walked to begin the inning and moved around the bases on a pair of singles from Alex Grenier and Ryan Montini.
- Lucas Kamoen came out of the bullpen and pitched the bottom of the sixth that saw ONU threaten with the bases loaded with one out, but Kamoen picked up a strikeout and a fly out to end the inning, keeping WNE's 7-3 lead intact.
Seventh Inning:
- The Golden Bears blew the game open in the top of the seventh inning to take full control. Tyler Kornacki led off with a double to left field while Noah Schermerhorn picked up his first career hit with an RBI on a single to center field, giving WNE an 8-3 lead. With two out in the inning, WNE picked up three more runs, Ryan Montini picked up an RBI single, while Andrew Florek's single plated two more, seeing Western New England take an 11-3 lead.
- Ohio Northern picked up two quick runs in the bottom of the seventh to trail 11-5 and continued to threaten with a pair of runners on base with only one out. Kamoen was able to settle in and pick up the final two outs needed to give Western New England its first win of the 2026 season, defeating the Polar Bears by a final score of 11-5.
Inside the Lines:
- Leo Paragarino led WNE with four hits in five at-bats, picking up three doubles in the win.
- Tyler Kornacki had three hits in four at-bats while scoring a run and picking up a pair of RBIs.
- Corey Kilroy notched three RBIs for the Golden Bears. Noah Schermerhorn picked up two RBIs in his first career collegiate start.
- In total, WNE picked up 15 hits, five for extra bases.
- In his second start of the season, Colby DiMenna went five innings to earn the win, giving up just five hits and three runs while striking out six.
Up Next on the Schedule:
- The Golden Bears will be right back on the diamond on Monday, March 9 at 10:00 AM with a game against Benedictine University, followed by a 1:30 PM first pitch against Mount St. Joseph University.
