Late heroics lift Wheaton baseball past Southern Maine in 10 innings, 5-4

April 20, 2008

Late Heroics Lift Wheaton Baseball Past Southern Maine in 10 Innings, 5-4

GORHAM, ME- Sophomore Jeff Lieneck's (Foxboro, MA/Xaverian Brothers) two-out RBI single in the 10th inning gave the nationally-ranked Wheaton College baseball team the lead for good after junior Nick Pecora's (Highland Park, NJ/Immaculata) two-out RBI double in the ninth had knotted the game, and the Lyons rallied for a 5-4 victory over perennial regional power University of Southern Maine on Sunday at the USM Baseball Stadium. With its 25th win in the last 28 games, Wheaton is 27-7 and ranked ninth in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) poll. The Huskies are 19-9, falling for the second time in four outings.

With his team down 4-3 in the top of the ninth, freshman Sean Munley (Trenton, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton) led off by reaching on catcher's interference and was replaced by classmate pinch runner Colin Lynch (Danvers, MA/Danvers). The next two Lyons flew out, but Lynch stole second base with two down before coming home on Pecora's run-scoring double. Wheaton put another runner on, as freshman Eric Laliberte (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) was intentionally walked, but the hosts escaped the jam. In the bottom half, Southern Maine put runners on first and second with one down, but junior closer Josh Simmons (Cranston, RI/Cranston West) induced a fielder's choice grounder before fanning the final batter with the winning run on third base.

Sophomore Paul Malaguti (Andover, MA/Andover) began the 10th by being hit by a pitch and moved to second on senior Jake Yagjian's (Brewster, MA/Nauset Regional) sacrifice bunt. Following an intentional pass and the second out of the inning, both runners moved up a base on a passed ball, and Lieneck followed with the game-winning single to left field, plating freshman pinch runner Scott Ciccone (Malden, MA/Arlington Catholic). Simmons tossed a perfect 10th, fanning the last two Husky hitters.

The exciting finish overshadowed a tremendous start by sophomore hurler Nick Kostaras (North Attleboro, MA/North Attleboro), who yielded a leadoff single in the first inning before setting down the next 11 hitters. During his first 5.1 innings, the righty allowed no runs on only two hits and struck out six. During that time, Wheaton staked Kostaras to a 3-0 lead, as Munley smacked a two-out, two-run double in the third inning before junior Robert Foote (Walpole, MA/Walpole) led off the fourth with a solo home run. However, Foote's dinger was the final Lyon hit until Pecora's game-tying double in the ninth.

Southern Maine battled back with one run in the sixth, but Wheaton squelched a two-on, one-out threat with an inning-ending double play. The Huskies took the lead in the seventh, scoring three times with two down. With the bases loaded, freshman Greg Holmes' (West Newbury, MA/Central Catholic) RBI single made it 3-2 before a walk drawn by junior Chris Burleson (Portland, ME/Deering) forced in the tying run. The hosts took the lead when an infield grounder was mishandled. The Huskies threatened for more in the eighth, putting runners on first and second with one down, but Foote snared a line drive in right field and doubled a runner off second base.

Seven different Lyons had one hit apiece, while Munley had his two RBI and three teammates notched one each. Senior Scott Guillerault (South Portland, ME/South Portland) walked three times, including twice intentionally. Kostaras received a no-decision despite yielding three runs on six hits in 6.1 innings with six strikeouts and one walk. Simmons, the fourth Wheaton reliever, allowed one hit in two shutout innings, fanning three and walking one to earn his first victory of the season during his 11th appearance out of the bullpen.

Holmes went 3-for-4 for Southern Maine, while juniors Anthony D'Alfonso (Westbrook, ME/Westbrook) and Ryan Gaffney (Salem, NH/Central Catholic) each had two hits. Burleson walked three times. Sophomore starter Mark Schmidt (Gorham, ME/Gorham) allowed four runs, three earned, on six hits in 8.2 innings, striking out eight and walking three, before junior Andrew Stacy (Denmark, ME/Fryeburg Academy) suffered the loss by allowing an unearned run on one hit in 1.1 frames.

Wheaton sets its sights on the double-elimination New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament, which begins on Wednesday when the second-seeded Lyons host number-five Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in the first round at 3:30 p.m.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 4/22/08.
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