Wheaton headed to NCAAs for fourth straight year, tabbed as second seed

May 12, 2008

NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College baseball team is headed to its fourth consecutive NCAA Division III Tournament and eighth in nine seasons, as the Lyons were selected as the second seed in this week's eight-team regional at Whitehouse Field in Harwich, Massachusetts. Wheaton's appearance at the Cape will mark its fourth straight and sixth since 2001. The Lyons reached this year's tournament by virtue of capturing their ninth New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament championship.

With four games on Wednesday's docket, the Lyons play in the nightcap against seventh-seeded Worcester State College at 8:00 p.m. The regional's first game between number-four University of Southern Maine and fifth seed Western New England College is set for 9:30 a.m. and is to be followed by top-seeded Trinity College and eighth seed Castleton State College at 1:00 p.m. The third contest features third seed Keene State College and number-six Saint Joseph's College (ME) at 4:30 p.m.

Wheaton, which has played in three regional championship rounds since 2002, boasts a 4-0 mark against this year's New England field. Enjoying a 30-win campaign for the sixth time in their 11-year varsity history, the Lyons boast a 32-8 record. Winners in 30 of its last 34 games, the Blue and White is three victories shy of posting the program's third-highest win total. Wheaton is ranked 11th nationally in the most recent American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) poll and has been second in New England all season.

Securing their ninth league tourney title in the conference's 10-year history, Wheaton hosted its eighth straight league championship round after finishing second in the regular season standings at 9-3. In the first season of a six-team, double-elimination format, the Lyons went unbeaten for the fourth consecutive spring, defeating Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), 10-3 and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 13-2 and 7-1 in back-to-back games before knocking off Springfield College, 4-1. Voted NEWMAC Coach of the Year for the eighth time, 12th-year skipper Eric Podbelski has led Wheaton to a 131-24 record against conference opponents.

Wheaton has been solid in all aspects of the game this season, ranking eighth in Division III in earned run average at 3.36, among the top 14 teams in three offensive categories and 24th in fielding percentage at .963. The Lyons lead the NEWMAC in ERA, fielding percentage and batting average (.321). During the season, the Blue and White shut out a program-best seven teams and racked up 17 consecutive wins, good for second in the team annals.

Four starters have combined for 22 wins and all have ERAs under 3.00, led by NEWMAC Pitcher of the Year Adam Gingras (Woonsocket, RI/Woonsocket). The junior is 7-0 with a 1.61 ERA and 42 strikeouts. Senior Chris McDonough (Weymouth, MA/Weymouth), junior Brian Hughes (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) and sophomore Nick Kostaras (North Attleboro, MA/North Attleboro) each have five wins. Kostaras is 5-0 with a 2.77 ERA and 40 strikeouts, McDonough 5-3 with a 2.79 ERA and 49 strikeouts and Hughes 5-2 with a 2.98 ERA.

Out of the bullpen, senior Keith Pescosolido (Newton, MA/Newton North) and junior Jared Barnes (North Attleboro, MA/Bishop Feehan) have appeared in 15 games and 13.2 innings apiece. Pescosolido is 3-0 with a 1.98 ERA and 16 strikeouts, while Barnes is 1-1 with a 2.63 ERA and 15 strikeouts. First-year southpaws Kevin Calabro (Andover, MA/Andover) and Chad Kasik (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) are a combined 5-0 with 33 strikeouts and each possess ERAs under 3.25. Junior closer Josh Simmons (Cranston, RI/Cranston West) is fourth in the country with 10 saves in 16 games while firing 32 strikeouts in 26.1 innings.

Offensively, sophomore Paul Malaguti (Andover, MA/Andover) boasts a .372 average, classmate Jeff Lieneck (Foxboro, MA/Xaverian Brothers) is also hitting .372 with 36 RBI and 35 runs, and junior Robert Foote (Walpole, MA/Walpole) is batting .370 with 12 doubles. Freshman Sean Munley (Trenton, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton) is at .338 with 41 RBI, senior Jake Yagjian (Brewster, MA/Nauset Regional) .323 with 37 runs, and classmates Ken Depasse (Holden, MA/Saint John's) and Scott Guillerault (South Portland, ME/South Portland) have .301 and .299 averages, respectively. Guillerault has 39 runs, 34 RBI and 16 doubles.

2008 NCAA Division III Baseball New England Regional Tournament Schedule:

Wednesday, May 14:
Game 1: #4 Southern Maine (32-12) vs. #5 Western New England (31-11) - 9:30 a.m.
Game 2: #1 Trinity (37-0) vs. #8 Castleton State (22-18) - 1:00 p.m.
Game 3: #3 Keene State (33-9) vs. #6 Saint Joseph's (ME) (28-16) - 4:30 p.m.
Game 4: #2 Wheaton (32-8) vs. #7 Worcester State (23-16) - 8:00 p.m.

Thursday, May 15:
Game 5: Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 - 9:30 a.m.
Game 6: Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 - 1:00 p.m.
Game 7: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 - 4:30 p.m.
Game 8: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 - 8:00 p.m.

Friday, May 16:
Game 9: Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 7 - 9:30 a.m.
Game 10: Loser of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 5 - 1:00 p.m.
Game 11: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8 - 4:30 p.m.
Game 12: Winner of Game 10 vs. Winner of Game 9 - 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 17:
Game 13: Winner of Game 12 vs. Loser of Game 11 - 12:00 p.m.
Game 14: Winner of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 13 - 4:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 18:
Game 15: Rematch of Game 14 (if necessary) - 12:00 p.m.

The winner will advance to the national tournament at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, on May 23-27.

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