2007 NCAA DIVISION III NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL TOURNAMENT - Wheaton outlasts Curry, 7-6 as 16-inning game matches longest in tourney history

May 16, 2007

HARWICH, MA- Matching the longest baseball game in NCAA Division III Tournament history while playing for nearly five hours and until close to 2:00 a.m. Thursday morning, top seed Wheaton College outlasted number four Curry College, 7-6 in 16 innings, as junior Scott Guillerault's (South Portland, ME/South Portland) RBI single provided the Lyons with a thrilling first-round victory at the New England Regional at Whitehouse Field.

Entering today's action ranked sixth nationally and first in New England by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), Wheaton won its 10th game in 11 tries to improve to 33-11, tying for the program's third-highest win total. The Blue and White met Curry for the first time while falling one inning short of the longest game in program history, which happened in 2003. In NCAA play, one 16-inning contest occurred in each the 1987 and 2005 NCAA Tournaments. The Lyons play tomorrow against fifth seed Keene State College at 4:30 p.m. The Colonels, who lost to Keene, 9-4 in 10 innings earlier today, finished their season with a 27-9 record.

With the score knotted at six after seven-and-a-half innings, the two teams endured eight scoreless frames that carried into the bottom of the 16th. Junior Ken Depasse (Holden, MA/Saint John's) began a one-out rally with a double to deep right field, setting up Guillerault's hard-hit game-winning base knock to second base. Wheaton's offense finished with 17 hits, while the Lyon pitching staff struck out 19 batters, tying the NCAA Tournament record set by Marietta College in 2001. Junior southpaw starter Chris McDonough (Weymouth, MA/Weymouth) fanned eight batters in 7.1 innings, leaving him one shy of tying the program's all-time record of 179.

McDonough and freshman righty Gary Hines (Duxbury, MA) battled through three scoreless frames to open the contest before Curry junior Bill Galvin (Deerfield Beach, FL) broke the stalemate by dropping a two-out RBI single into right field in the fourth, scoring senior Chris Scarola (Massapequa Park, NY). Hines found a groove with five straight strikeouts in the third and fourth frames, but in the home half of the fourth sophomore Nick Pecora (Highland Park, NY/Immaculata) drew a two-out walk, stole second and scored after senior hometown product Adam Laplante (Harwich, MA/Harwich) single into left field. Laplante moved to second after sophomore Robert Foote (Walpole, MA/Walpole) walked and was brought around on a Guillerault base hit to left.

The Colonels bounced right back with a three-run fifth when Scarola launched a three-run shot over the right field fence. Senior Jeff Martin (Marblehead, MA/Marblehead) brought the Lyons within one in the bottom half thanks to a double just inside the right field foul line. Freshman Paul Malaguti (Andover, MA/Andover) sacrificed Martin to third, setting up senior Travis Anthoine's (Portland, ME/Portland) RBI grounder to second. After Anthoine was caught stealing for the fifth inning's second out, Wheaton loaded the bags on senior Brandon Leonard's (Brockton, MA/Brockton) single and back-to-back walks by Pecora and Laplante. Hines escaped further damage by inducing a fly ball to left on the first pitch to the next batter.

Curry jammed the bases in the seventh, as junior Chris Judd (Peabody, MA) led off with a double, Scarola was intentionally walked and freshman Rick Vail (Lynnfield, MA) got hit by a pitch, but with two down McDonough got out of the frame unscathed with his eighth strikeout of the game. Wheaton recaptured the lead in the home half thanks to Pecora's one-out flair into shallow left center, scoring Anthoine, who hit a two-bagger to left with one down. The Blue and White went ahead by two when Leonard used heads-up base running to score all the way from second following Laplante's grounder to the pitcher, who forced a runner out at second.

The Colonels knotted the contest in the eighth on consecutive RBI singles from Judd and freshman Tony Luciana (Weymouth, MA). Wheaton had an opportunity to regain the advantage in the eighth but came away empty after leaving two runners stranded. After a scoreless ninth and an outstanding diving catch in center by Anthoine in the top of the 10th, the Lyons loaded the bases with one down in the bottom half, but senior Eric Lochiatto (Newton, MA) got out of a huge jam by fanning a batter and inducing a force at third.

Wheaton left another pair on base in the 11th before Curry followed suit in the 13th. Sophomore closer Josh Simmons (Cranston, RI/Cranston West) fanned seven batters while working the final four innings, as he struck out the side in the 14th inning before setting down two of the final three Colonels he faced in the 16th frame. For the second straight contest, Simmons earned the win. Junior Keith Pescosolido (Newton, MA/Newton North) and freshman Pat Martin (Rockland, MA/Rockland) each tossed a pair of no-hit innings out of the bullpen with a pair of strikeouts, as they joined Simmons and sophomore Brian Hughes (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) in blanking Curry on no hits over the final 8.1 innings in relief of McDonough, striking out 11 while walking three.

Leonard finished 3-for-8, as his eight at bats matched an NCAA Tournament single-game record. Laplante added two hits and 19 putouts while catching all 16 innings, and Guillerault had two hits and two RBI. Anthoine, Depasse, Foote and Pecora also contributed two knocks apiece.

Scarola led Curry by going 3-for-7 with three RBI and two runs, while Galvin contributed a 3-for-7 effort. Judd finished with two hits. Freshman Cory Moore (Lynn, MA) suffered the loss out of the bullpen, allowing just the winning run over 5.1 innings on five hits. Lochiatto worked three shutout innings of relief, yielding two hits.

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