Weekly Lyon

Baseball (32-8, 9-3) Completes Regular Season by Splitting Pair, Prepares for NCAAs

The Wheaton College baseball team, ranked 12th in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) poll, completed its regular season slate by splitting a pair of contests last week, falling at 28th-ranked Eastern Connecticut State University, 2-1 on Thursday before downing visiting Johnson & Wales University, 11-2 on Saturday. The Lyons, who automatically qualified for the NCAA Tournament by winning the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament title game on Sunday, April 27, await the release of the NCAA Tournament bracket next Monday, May 12.

At Eastern Connecticut State, sophomore Jeff Lieneck (Foxboro, MA/Xaverian Brothers) homered with one out in the ninth before the Lyons put the tying run on base, but Wheaton fell short. The Blue and White saw a 10-game winning streak in contests decided by one run come to an end. Lieneck ended the day 3-for-4, while sophomore Sean Buckley (Webster, MA/Bartlett) had a 2-for-4 showing. Senior southpaw Chris McDonough (Weymouth, MA/Weymouth) suffered the loss despite yielding just one earned run on eight hits in seven innings, as he fanned three and walked just one.

Five players had multiple hits, and Wheaton plated 10 runs between the third and fifth innings against Johnson & Wales. Junior Robert Foote (Walpole, MA/Walpole) was 4-for-4 with three RBI, while freshman Sean Munley (Trenton, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton) finished 2-for-2 with two runs and two walks. Classmate Eric Laliberte (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) went 2-for-3 with two runs, Lieneck was 2-for-3 with two RBI and a double, while senior Scott Guillerault (South Portland, ME/South Portland) had two hits and scored twice. Classmate Ken Depasse (Holden, MA/Saint John's) drew a pair of walks, and senior Jake Yagjian (Brewster, MA/Nauset Regional) had two runs. Five Wheaton hurlers combined to yield five hits while striking out seven and walking only two. Junior Adam Gingras (Woonsocket, RI/Woonsocket) improved to 7-0 after going the first three innings, allowing one run on two hits with four strikeouts, before classmate Brian Hughes (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) and sophomore Nick Kostaras (North Attleboro, MA/North Attleboro) each tossed a pair of frames. Hughes allowed one run on two hits, and Kostaras set down all six batters he faced, including two on strikes. Freshman Kevin Calabro (Andover, MA/Andover) tossed a 1-2-3 eighth, and senior Keith Pescosolido (Newton, MA/Newton North) pitched a shutout ninth inning.

Thanks in large part to Gingras and McDonough, who have each tied a program record with two shutouts this season, Wheaton has notched a school-record seven shutouts in 2008. McDonough is just the second Lyon to record a pair of two-shutout campaigns, having also done so last year, while Simmons is tied for third at Wheaton with 10 saves this spring. The Lyons have a program-record 29 sacrifice flies and are one and two shy of the program's hit-by-pitch and walks marks, with 70 and 199, respectively. Guillerault has 16 doubles, two short of the program record, and has drawn 35 walks, as three of the program's five 30-walk campaigns belong to him. Munley's 41 RBI are one shy of Wheaton's freshman mark, and Lieneck has tied the standard by being hit 13 times by a pitch.

Guillerault is among the top five in many career categories at Wheaton, ranking first in games played (181), walks (126) and hit-by-pitch (36), second in home runs (25), tied for second in RBI (168) and sacrifice flies (12), and third in doubles (53) and runs (152). Yagjian is tied for second in sacrifice flies (12), tied for third in games (168), fourth in bases on balls (80) and times hit by a pitch (25) and fifth in hits (202). McDonough is first in strikeouts (227) and complete games (11), tied for second in shutouts (4), and third in wins (21) and innings (255). Simmons is second in saves (18) and third in pitching appearances (58), while Pescosolido is fifth in games (55).

Guillerault and Kostaras Draw Weekly Honors From NEWMAC Following Title

Guillerault and Kostaras swept NEWMAC weekly awards following the team's fourth straight league title, as Guillerault was honored as player of the week and Kostaras pitcher of the week for the week ending on Sunday, April 27. Guillerault earned the third weekly conference award of his career and first since his sophomore season, while Kostaras garnered his first honor. Guillerault swung a hot bat in leading Wheaton to a 4-0 week, batting .583 with a .750 slugging percentage and a .737 on-base percentage. He went 7-for-12 with five runs, four RBI, two doubles and five walks and had multiple hits in three games. In the NEWMAC Tournament championship game against Springfield College, Kostaras yielded one unearned run on three hits in 7.2 innings during a 4-1 victory. Facing five batters over the minimum, Kostaras allowed just one single and two doubles. He walked only two batters while fanning a career-high seven, retiring 11 of 12 batters during one stretch.

Men's Lacrosse (8-9, 5-2) Qualifies For First Pilgrim League Tournament Final Since 1996

The Wheaton College men's lacrosse team's first season under head coach Mike McCaffrey came to an end on Saturday, but only after the Lyons qualified for their initial Pilgrim League Tournament championship game since 1996 and stuck with perennial power Springfield College before falling, 9-5. Second-seeded Wheaton fell to the top seed after downing number-three Babson College, 11-9 on Wednesday for its first league tournament win in the program's 17-year history. Despite fielding a 32-athlete team comprised of 14 freshmen and 10 sophomores, the Lyons were on the brink of earning their first NCAA berth after being predicted by Inside Lacrosse to finish fourth in the league.

In his final home game, senior Richie Rasamny (Redding, CT/Joel Barlow) scored the winning goal while breaking the school record for career games played, and sophomore Schuyler Horn (New Hartford, CT/Kingswood-Oxford School) made a number of big saves among his dozen in leading Wheaton past Babson in the Pilgrim League Tournament semifinals. The Lyons, who were hosting their first Pilgrim tourney game since 1998, picked up the program's initial conference tournament victory in five tries. Freshman Chris Landers (Manchester, MA/Proctor Academy), who netted a hat trick, broke a 4-4 tie with 32.3 seconds left in the opening half to give Wheaton the lead for good. Sophomore Drew Schaffer (New Haven, CT/Loomis Chaffee School) also recorded three goals, Rasamny had two goals and two assists, while freshman Ben Cederberg (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) scored twice.

Against Springfield, which has won seven Pilgrim League Tournament crowns, Wheaton used a 4-0 run to take the lead in the second quarter, and a Cederberg tally later in the period knotted the contest before the Pride scored the final four goals of the game. The Lyons, who had won five straight contests, received two assists from Rasamny and single goals from Cederberg, Schaffer, sophomores Warren Garceau (Guilford, CT/Canterbury School) and Tim Horan (Cheshire, CT/Cheshire) and freshman Duncan Smith (Centerport, NY/Harborfields). Horn made 14 saves.

With 29 goals, Landers recorded the most by a Wheaton freshman since 1996, which was the last time three Lyon first-years notched a dozen goals apiece. Landers, Cederberg (21) and Smith (13) each reached the plateau this spring. In his first season as Wheaton's outright starting keeper, Horn recorded the second-most minutes (848:12) and fifth-best win (7) and GAA (9.20) figures in program history. In nine games against Pilgrim teams, Horn recorded a 7.75 GAA and had a .612 save percentage.

Rasamny finished his career ninth in program history with 116 career points. In addition to 60 goals, Rasamny tied for third in assists (56), becoming the fourth Lyon with 50 goals and assists. Having appeared in 61 contests, Rasamny broke the school mark for games played.

Landers Draws Wheaton's First Weekly Pilgrim League Honor Since 2006 Season

Landers was named Pilgrim League Player of the Week for the week ending on Sunday, April 27. The freshman became the conference's first underclassman to earn an honor since last April 23 and was the initial Lyon to draw a weekly accolade since May 1, 2006. Landers' 11-point week led Wheaton to a 2-0 mark in Pilgrim play and helped the Lyons clinch the second seed in the league tournament. He scored three goals against Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), including the game-winner, while assisting three others in a 14-6 victory on April 23. Landers also notched the game-winning tally during Wheaton's 11-7 triumph over Babson College on April 26, as he posted three goals and a pair of assists. Landers' second hat trick was comprised of one man-up, man-down and even-strength goal each.

Women's Lacrosse (7-10, 3-3) Sees Season End in First Round of NEWMAC Tournament

The Wheaton College women's lacrosse team saw its season come to an end in the first round of the NEWMAC Tournament on Wednesday, as the fourth-seeded Lyons dropped a 13-12 decision to visiting fifth seed Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Wheaton scored the first three goals and still held an 11-8 edge before the Engineers knotted the contest with 5:48 remaining in regulation. Senior Sara Dimick (Cumberland, ME/Greely) put the Lyons back in front at 2:58, but MIT tallied twice in the final 43 seconds to capture the victory. Dimick, classmate Meredith Hurd (Bath, ME/Hyde School) and junior Caitlin Grant (Walpole, MA/Walpole) each finished with a hat trick, while Dimick added an assist. Freshman Annalisa Carson (Yarmouth, ME/Yarmouth) made 14 saves.

Hurd finished fourth in program history in career goals (149) and fifth in points (168).

Men's and Women's Track and Field Athletes Take Part in Division III Regional Meet

The Wheaton College men's and women's track and field teams competed at the Division III New England Championship over the weekend at the United States Coast Guard Academy, as the women tied for 10th among 28 scoring teams, and the men were 18th out of 26. The Wheaton women recorded five top-five marks, led by runner-up finishes from junior Morgan Jamiel (Warwick, RI/Toll Gate) in the heptathlon, sophomore Renee Thompson (Hartford, CT/Weaver) during the 400-meter dash and freshman Erin Neville (North Providence, RI/La Salle Academy) in the high jump. Juniors Christine Moreau (Lincoln, RI/Lincoln) and Celeste Karpow (Wilton, CT/Wilton) placed fourth and fifth, respectively, during the 400M hurdles. For the men, sophomore Howard Powell (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) won the 110M hurdles with an NCAA Championship provisional qualifying time of 14.78. Freshman Marcus Kohlman (Milton, MA/Milton) placed fourth during the high jump.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 5/5/08.
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