MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Wesleyan baseball team plated runs in every inning while Lucca Frattone '27 threw 5+ shutout innings in relief, highlighting a 21-4 home-opening win for the Cardinals over Saint Joseph on Wednesday night. The Cardinals (11-2) have won four of their past five games and defeat the Blue Jays (7-8-1) in what was the first all-time meeting between Wesleyan and USJ, who is in its first varsity season in 2024.
 
After turning a double play in the top of the 1^st, Wesleyan jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the bottom half, scoring the five runs on just two hits. USJ came back with a four-run 2^nd inning, taking advantage of four walks and two hit by pitches to lower the deficit to just one.
 
Tyler Cosgrove '25 singled home Evan Diaz '25 in the bottom of the 2^nd to make it 6-4 Cardinals while Frattone, who entered in the 2^nd inning, held the Blue Jays to no runs despite seeing two runners in scoring position with one out in the 3^rd inning.
 
A big five-run bottom of the 3^rd inning saw the Cardinals bat around the lineup and seize control of the game. Jack Nally '24 led off with a single, followed by a Matt Halas '24 infield single to put two runners on. Nally came home on a wild pitch and after Vinny Roman '26 walked, Ernie Little '26 smashed a three-run homer, the second of his career and first of the season, down the left field line to make it 10-4.
 
Little plated another run in the 4^th on a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Halas, and Jack Carpenter '25 came through with a two-out RBI single to right as the Cardinals led 13-4 after four innings.
 
After a 1-2-3 5^th for Frappone in his first career appearance, the Cardinals batted around again in the bottom half, scoring four more runs on five hits. Halas had the big hit of the inning, lifting a solo bomb over the fence out in left center for the first home run of his career. Carpenter hit his second RBI single in as many innings before Luke LaSaracina '25 walked home a run with the bases loaded.
 
Both benches emptied in the 7^th inning but Frappone continued to deal, retiring the side in-order in the 6^th while he allowed his first base runner since the 4^th inning in the 7^th.
 
The game was called due to darkness with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the 7^th, but not before the Cardinals scored two more runs as Jack Gialanella '27 walked with the bases juiced and Will Moore '26 hit his second sacrifice fly of the game to finish off the scoring at 21-4 Wesleyan.
 
Carpenter and Evan Diaz led the Cardinal offense as each went 3-for-4 with one walk, reaching base safely in four of their five plate appearances. Diaz scored three runs while Carpenter had 2 RBI. Little went 2-for-3 with 4 RBI, three runs, one walk, and two stolen bases from the leadoff spot. Torino went 2-for-4 with three runs while Cosgrove walked four times and drove in two runs. Halas led the team with four runs scored while going 2-for-3 at the plate.
 
Frattone was brilliant in relief, going 5.1 scoreless innings in his first career outing. He finished with five hits and just one walk with six strikeouts to pick up the win.
 
The Cardinals open NESCAC play this weekend, traveling to Amherst on Friday for the start of the three-game series. The two sides will play a Saturday doubleheader at Dresser Diamond starting at Noon.