2007 NEWMAC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT - Lyons reach third straight championship round with 6-1 win over MIT

April 28, 2007

NORTON, MA- Junior righthander Louie Bernardini (Gray, ME/Gray-New Gloucester) pitched into the ninth with zero earned runs and five hits allowed while sophomore Robert Foote (Walpole, MA/Walpole) went 3-for-4 with two RBI, leading top seed Wheaton College to a 6-1 baseball victory against third-seeded Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Saturday afternoon's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament semifinal round at Sidell Stadium.

Entering today ranked seventh nationally and first in New England according to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), the 26-10 Lyons advance to tomorrow's championship round for the third consecutive year and eighth time in the league's nine-year history. Wheaton will await the winner of Sunday morning's 11:00 a.m. elimination game between MIT and fourth seed Babson College. Babson edged seventh-seeded United States Coast Guard Academy, 5-4 in 10 innings in Babson Park earlier this afternoon.

Bernardini, who improved his season mark to 6-0, retired the first eight batters in order and nine of his first 10, setting up the offense's two-run frame in the bottom half of the third. A pair of sacrifice flies from senior Brandon Leonard (Brockton, MA/Brockton) and sophomore Nick Pecora (Highland Park, NJ/Immaculata) gave the Lyons a 2-0 edge. MIT responded with consecutive singles from sophomore Steven Nunez (Tulare, CA/Tulare Western) and senior Jason Witzberger (Wheeling, WV/The Linsly School) to open the fourth, but Bernardini forced a groundout to short followed by a strikeout and liner to center to end the inning.

The hosts doubled their advantage in the fourth, with Foote launching his third home run of the season off the scoreboard in right field to begin the frame. Four batters later, sophomore Karl Olson (Bethel, ME/Gould Academy) singled to left field and drove in junior Scott Guillerault (South Portland, ME/South Portland). Wheaton took a 6-0 advantage with a pair of runs in the sixth, as senior Travis Anthoine (Portland, ME/Portland) scored on an error and Foote brought Leonard around with a single to right.

MIT got on the board in the top half of the eighth when freshman Stewart Park (Brooklyn, NY/Xaverian) plated sophomore Chris D'Annunzio (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) on a sac fly to center. The Engineers put their leadoff runner on in the ninth, but sophomore reliever Jared Barnes (North Attleboro, MA/Bishop Feehan) closed the door with two fly outs and a strikeout.

Bernardini fanned six and walked one in eight-plus innings, while MIT sophomore Matt Loper (Huntington Beach, CA/Sage Hill) took the loss after giving up four earned runs on three hits with two walks in three-plus innings. Offensively for the Lyons, Anthoine, Foote and Pecora turned in multiple-hit performances, including Anthoine and Pecora each going 2-for-4.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 4/28/07.
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