Lyons push past Suffolk, 8-3 in final contest before NCAA Tournament

May 14, 2007

NORTON, MA- Senior Travis Anthoine (Portland, ME/Portland) drew a tiebreaking bases-loaded walk in the sixth inning to spark a three-run frame, and the nationally-ranked Wheaton College baseball team pulled away from Suffolk University for an 8-3 victory on Monday in Sidell Stadium.

The contest was the last before entering NCAA Tournament play on Wednesday for the Lyons, who are ranked sixth nationally and first in New England by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA). The Blue and White improved to 32-11 by winning for the ninth time in 10 games, while Suffolk fell to 23-15.

Freshman Tom Kelly (Milton, MA/Catholic Memorial) started a 3-for-4 day with a two-out RBI double in the first that gave Suffolk a 1-0 lead, but Wheaton scored once on an error in the second before junior Jake Yagjian (Brewster, MA/Nauset Regional) lifted the first of the Lyons' three sacrifice flies.

Suffolk knotted the game in the fourth, as senior Marc Exarhopoulos (Hudson, MA/Hudson) followed a Kelly double with an RBI single, but junior Scott Guillerault's (South Portland, ME/South Portland) sacrifice fly in the bottom half gave the lead back to the Lyons. Exarhopoulos again singled home Kelly in the sixth to tie the score at three, but sophomore Josh Simmons (Cranston, RI/Cranston West) came out of the bullpen to escape a two-on, two-out situation by fanning the first batter he faced.

Wheaton responded with three runs on three walks, two hits and two sacrifices in the home half of the sixth. Anthoine drew a five-pitch walk with one out and the bases loaded to make it 4-3, Yagjian scored on a wild pitch, and senior Brandon Leonard (Brockton, MA/Brockton) hit a sacrifice fly. Two more Lyon runs scampered home the following inning, as senior Jeff Martin (Marblehead, MA/Marblehead) and freshman Paul Malaguti (Andover, MA/Andover) smacked consecutive RBI singles with one out.

As the fourth of eight Wheaton pitchers, Simmons notched his first win of the season by fanning two batters in 0.2 innings. Sophomore Adam Gingras (Woonsocket, RI/Woonsocket) tossed five innings of four-hit ball to start the contest, yielding two runs with three strikeouts before the final six hurlers held Suffolk scoreless on three hits in 3.1 innings. Sophomore Brian Hughes (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) retired two batters, including one on strikes, before sophomore Jared Barnes (North Attleboro, MA/Bishop Feehan) tossed a scoreless eighth. Junior Keith Pescosolido (Newton, MA/Newton North) and freshman Pat Martin (Rockland, MA/Rockland) shared a perfect ninth.

Malaguti finished 2-for-2 with two walks, Yagjian was 2-for-2 with two runs, and Jeff Martin added two hits. Guillerault and sophomore Robert Foote (Walpole, MA/Walpole) each scored twice. Kelly had two runs for Suffolk, while Exarhopoulos went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Sophomore Tim Doyle (Milton, MA/Milton), the second of five pitchers, took the loss after giving up three runs on two hits in 1.1 innings.

Wheaton's season continues in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday at Whitehouse Field in Harwich at 8:00 p.m. In the initial game of the top-seeded Lyons' seventh national tournament appearance, Wheaton opposes either number four Curry College or fifth-seeded Keene State College.

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