Three-run eighth helps Wheaton push win streak to 15 as Lyons turn back Southern Maine, 6-5

April 5, 2008

NORTON, MA- Senior Scott Guillerault (South Portland, ME/South Portland) ripped a two-run double down the left field line in the eighth inning to give the Wheaton College baseball team a 6-5 lead, and junior closer Josh Simmons (Cranston, RI/Cranston West) struck out the side in the ninth against a high-powered University of Southern Maine offense, leading the Lyons to their 15th straight win Saturday afternoon at Sidell Stadium.

In a game that was originally scheduled for Sunday but pushed forward a day in order to get today's nine-inning game in as well as tomorrow's doubleheader, Wheaton, which is ranked 18th nationally by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), snapped the Huskies' seven-game winning streak and improved to 17-4. Southern Maine, which had won 11 of its last 12 games entering today's action, fell to 11-5.

Trailing 5-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth, Wheaton had stranded 11 base runners to Southern Maine's two, but in the home half the Lyons capitalized on their opportunities. Freshman Eric Laliberte (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) started the one-out rally by reaching base on an infield miscue. Laliberte moved to second after senior Jake Yagjian (Brewster, MA/Nauset Regional) was plunked and scored one batter later when sophomore Paul Malaguti (Andover, MA/Andover) dropped in a single to shallow right center.

After a Husky pitching change, Guillerault's game-winning two-bagger plated Yagjian from second while bringing Malaguti home from first. In the ninth, Simmons continued an impressive stretch of fanning batters, as the righthander's last 12 outs have come via strikeouts. Picking up his fifth save of the season, Simmons has retired 13 of his last 14 batters. Freshman southpaw Chad Kasik (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) improved to 2-0 with 3.1 innings of relief, striking out two batters while allowing one earned run on three hits.

Wheaton opened the scoring with a run in the first on two hit batsmen, an error and a sacrifice fly, but the visitors knotted the score in the fourth and took a 4-1 lead thanks to a three-run fifth. In the fourth, junior Anthony D'Alfonso (Westbrook, ME/Westbrook) smacked an RBI single up the middle, and classmate Chris Burleson (Portland, ME/Deering) highlighted the Southern Maine fifth with a two-out, two-run double to left.

The Lyons responded with two runs in the sixth, using two hits, a walk and hit batsman while taking advantage of an error to make it a one-run game. Junior Nick Pecora (Highland Park, NJ/Immaculata), who drew a leadoff walk, eventually scored on a Husky throwing error. Senior Ken Depasse (Holden, MA/Saint John's) was Wheaton's third run to come across, scoring on junior Robert Foote's (Walpole, MA/Walpole) groundout to short. In the top of the eighth, Southern Maine senior Eddie Skeffington (Everett, MA/Everett) singled home Burleson to make it a 5-3 game.

Wheaton finished with seven hits in the contest, led by Malaguti's 2-for-4 showing with one run and an RBI. Depasse was 2-for-5 with a run, Guillerault had the two RBI, Laliberte scored twice from his leadoff spot, and freshman Sean Munley (Trenton, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton) drove in a run and added two walks.

Burleson, junior Andrew Stacy (Denmark, ME/Fryeburg Academy) and sophomore Collin Henry (Penobscot, ME/George Stevens Academy) finished with two hits apiece for Southern Maine. Burleson plated a pair of runs and scored twice. Sophomore Joe Curran (Arlington, MA/Bridgton Academy) was saddled with the loss after giving up three runs, two earned, on one hit in 0.2 innings.

Wheaton hosts New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) foe Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in a twinbill tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. that was originally scheduled to be played today.

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