Nationally-ranked Lyons open spring with 12-4 loss to highly-touted TCNJ

March 8, 2008

PHOENIX, AZ- The nationally-ranked Wheaton College baseball team opened its 2008 campaign with a 12-4 setback to highly-touted The College of New Jersey Saturday afternoon. The Lyons entered the spring ranked 13th according to the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll, while the other Lions stood 14th.

Wheaton did most of its offensive damage in the visitor half of the second, scoring three runs on the strength of sophomore Jeff Lieneck's (Foxboro, MA/Xavierian Brothers) first collegiate homer, a two-run shot that sailed over the left field fence for a 2-0 lead. Lieneck plated freshman Sean Munley (Trenton, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton), who began his career with a single down the right field line.

Junior Robert Foote (Walpole, MA/Walpole) posted Wheaton's third straight second-inning hit, advanced to second on a wild pitch and eventually scored courtesy of an RBI single from freshman Eric Laliberte (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin), who notched his initial collegiate hit. Senior southpaw Chris McDonough (Weymouth, MA/Weymouth) set down three batters on strikes and allowed four hits through three scoreless innings.

The Blue and White ran into trouble in the fourth, committing a pair of defensive miscues that allowed four unearned runs to come across. TCNJ also led off the frame with a solo home run to left, as the Lions carried a 5-3 lead into the fifth. After each team exchanged a run in the fifth and went scoreless in the sixth, TCNJ tallied four runs in the seventh and a pair more in the eighth to complete the scoring.

Munley was Wheaton's lone multiple hitter, going 2-for-4, while Foote finished 1-for-2 while getting hit by a pitch. Laliberte and sophomore Jason Clucas (Peabody, MA/Saint John's Prep) each went 1-for-2 with a walk. Senior Jake Yagjian (Brewster, MA/Nauset Regional) batted 1-for-3 with a run and a walk, and classmate Scott Guillerault (South Portland, ME/South Portland) drove in a run and drew a walk.

McDonough fanned six batters and walked one through six-plus innings, yielding eight runs, three of which were earned, on 12 hits. Sophomore Jon Shepard (Salisbury, MA/Triton Regional) tossed the final two frames, surrendering four runs and six hits.

The Lyons face 2007 NCAA Tournament College World Series participant Cortland State College tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. The Red Dragons are ranked second in the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll.

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