Eighteenth-ranked Wheaton comes from behind to edge Suffolk, 3-2

April 2, 2008

NORTON, MA- Junior closer Josh Simmons (Cranston, RI/Cranston West) struck out the only five batters he faced to earn his third save of the season, and the Wheaton College baseball team broke a 2-2 stalemate with an unearned run in the sixth inning, as the Lyons defeated non-league foe Suffolk University, 3-2 Wednesday afternoon at Sidell Stadium.

Ranked 18th nationally by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), Wheaton stretched the program's second-longest winning streak to 13 games while improving to 15-4 overall. The Rams had a four-game win streak come to an end in falling to 12-5.

In a game that saw 27 runners left on base, 13 walks and just two half frames that went 1-2-3, Suffolk struck first with a run on two hits in the second. Junior Anthony Iacopucci (Medford, MA/Arlington Catholic) drove in the Rams' lone run of the frame, as junior starter Brian Hughes (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) limited the damage by inducing a fly ball and groundout to escape a bases-loaded jam with one down. Suffolk left the bases jammed in each the second, fourth and fifth innings.

The Rams picked up their second run in the third, this time with Iacopucci poking a two-out RBI single through the left side, but Suffolk stranded two as Hughes forced a fly ball to left to end the threat. The Wheaton offense responded in the home half, knotting the contest on run-scoring singles from juniors Robert Foote (Walpole, MA/Walpole) and Nick Pecora (Highland Park, NJ/Immaculata). The Lyons also left their fair share of runners on the bags, stranding two in the second and third frames and three in the fourth.

Junior reliever Jared Barnes (North Attleboro, MA/Bishop Feehan), who entered the game with two on and no outs in the fifth, fired three scoreless innings with three strikeouts in earning his first win of the season. Wheaton's game-winning run came with one down in the sixth, as freshman Hadi Raad (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY/Hastings) led off the inning with a double down the left field line. Sophomore Paul Malaguti (Andover, MA/Andover) sacrificed Raad over to third, and Raad later scored on a muffed throw by the catcher when Raad broke for home on a ground ball to short.

Suffolk had a golden opportunity to tie the game in the seventh, but Iacopucci got caught between third and home on a failed suicide squeeze attempt. The Rams drew back-to-back walks in the eighth with just one out, but Simmons closed the door, catching his first batter looking before squelching the rally on a swinging strikeout. He then fanned the side in the ninth.

Foote and Pecora each finished 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Malaguti was 2-for-3 with a run and a walk. Hughes took the no-decision, yielding one earned run on seven hits with three strikeouts and five walks over four-plus innings.

Iacopucci was Suffolk's lone multiple hitter, going 3-for-4 with two RBI. Sophomore Tim Corcoran (Beverly, MA/Saint John's Prep) scored twice, while senior Steve Durant (Malden, MA/Malden Catholic) was saddled with the pitching loss after allowing the three runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts and five walks in six innings of work.

Wheaton turns back around tomorrow for a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) road game against Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) at 3:30 p.m.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 4/2/08.
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