Closer Simmons tabbed NEWMAC baseball pitcher of the week

April 7, 2008

NORTON, MA- Wheaton College baseball standout Josh Simmons (Cranston, RI/Cranston West) became the fourth Lyon is as many weeks to earn a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) weekly honor, as the junior righthanded closer was named pitcher of the week for the first time in his career for the week ending on Sunday, April 6.

Simmons contributed to three of Wheaton's five wins during the week, recording all 12 of his outs via strikeouts in four innings while saving three games in as many attempts. Allowing just one hit on the week, opponents batted .077 off Simmons.

He fanned all five Suffolk University batters over 1.2 innings in helping the Lyons win 3-2 on Wednesday before striking out four in 1.1 frames during Wheaton's 7-4 victory at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) on Thursday. In Saturday's 6-5 come-from-behind win against regional power University of Southern Maine, Simmons fanned the side in the ninth.

Leading the league with five saves this season, Simmons has 21 strikeouts in 17 innings. Since moving back into the bullpen, 15 of his 19 outs have come by strikeouts in 6.1 frames. Simmons' five saves are tied for fifth in program history. He also ranks second with 13 career saves and fourth with 50 pitching appearances.

Simmons has helped lead Wheaton to its best start in the program's 11-year history, as the Lyons are 19-4 after having extended their second-longest winning streak to 17 games last weekend. Ranked 18th nationally by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), Wheaton is also 7-0 in the NEWMAC. The Blue and White faces a tough conference test tomorrow when it faces host Babson College at 3:30 p.m.

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