Eight Wheaton players sign with collegiate summer league baseball teams

June 14, 2007

NORTON, MA- Eight Wheaton College baseball players are extending their spring seasons into the summer after signing contracts with area and regional NCAA-sanctioned leagues. Three are playing in the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL), a pair in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL), two in the New York Collegiate Baseball League (NYCBL) and one in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League (GLSCL).

Five to-be seniors lead the Lyon contingent, as Louie Bernardini (Gray, ME/Gray-New Gloucester), Scott Guillerault (South Portland, ME/South Portland), Chris McDonough (Weymouth, MA/Weymouth), Josh Moore (Manchester, NH/Manchester Memorial) and Jake Yagjian (Brewster, MA/Nauset Regional) comprise the invitees. The incoming junior class includes Rhode Island natives Adam Gingras (Woonsocket, RI/Woonsocket) and Josh Simmons (Cranston, RI/Cranston West), while Jeff Lieneck (Foxboro, MA/Xaverian Brothers) is the lone sophomore.

The righthanded Bernardini re-signed with the Saratoga Phillies after being named the 2006 NYCBL Pitcher of the Year and Tom Kenney Defensive Most Valuable Player after leading the team to the league championship. Righthander Simmons joins Bernardini on the Phillies staff, while southpaws McDonough and Moore dot the NECBL's Lowell All-Americans and CCBL's Wareham Gatemen rosters, respectively. Gingras, who throws from the right side, signed on with the GLSCL's Southern Ohio Copperheads.

Wheaton's starting third baseman, Guillerault is also a member of the NECBL's Sanford Mainers, while second baseman Yagjian is making a return to the CCBL's Brewster Whitecaps after playing there last summer. After just one year with the Lyons, Lieneck is catching for the NECBL's Pittsfield Dukes.

Bernardini, McDonough and Yagjian were each named to the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) all-region team following a spring season that saw the Lyons go 34-13. Bernardini went 7-1 with a 3.05 earned run average in 62.0 innings, while McDonough posted a 5-1 mark and team-leading 1.94 ERA with five complete games and 62 strikeouts through 65.0 frames. Yagjian batted .343 with 38 runs, 33 RBI and nine stolen bases.

Moore, who is coming off a school-record 16-strikeout performance during a win at the NCAA New England Regional Tournament, finished the season 8-1 with a 3.13 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 69.0 innings. Guillerault contributed 33 RBI, a team-high-tying 12 doubles and seven steals in joining Yagjian as the only two players to have started all 47 games.

Simmons collected six saves and two wins during a team-best 21 performances as Wheaton's closer, fanning 28 in just 19.2 frames, while Gingras was 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in his first spring as a regular starter. Lieneck, who was the backup catcher behind a two-time conference player of the year, picked up seven starts and 15 played games either behind the dish or in a designated hitter's role.

Finishing the spring ranked 11th nationally and second in New England according to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), Wheaton advanced to its seventh NCAA Tournament in eight seasons. The Lyons won their ninth straight New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) regular season crown and eighth league tournament crown. Wheaton was 9-3 in league play.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 6/18/08.
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