2008 NEWMAC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT - Six late-inning runs lift Wheaton past MIT, 7-1 and into championship

April 26, 2008

BABSON PARK, MA- The Wheaton College baseball team moved to 3-0 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament play Saturday afternoon at host Babson College, as the second-seeded Lyons scored six late-inning runs en route to a 7-1 victory over third seed Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the double-elimination tourney at Govoni Field.

Advancing to its ninth conference championship round in the NEWMAC's 10-year history, Wheaton finds itself playing against fourth-seeded Springfield College in the friendly confines of Sidell Stadium tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. due to top seed Babson being eliminated earlier today. Ranked 12th nationally by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), the Lyons improved to 30-7 in reaching the 30-win plateau for the fourth successive spring. Wheaton handed both tournament losses to MIT, which is now 17-15.

Today's game began as a pitcher's duel between Lyon southpaw Brian Hughes (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) and Engineer righty Matt Loper (Huntington Beach, CA/Sage Hill School), as the juniors combined to allow just one hit through the first two-plus innings. Loper was chased in the third after issuing three walks, but the duel continued as junior Stephen Toth (Walden, NY/Valley Central) limited the Wheaton offense to two hits in his first 3.2 frames.

Despite little offensive output in the early going, the Lyons did manage to snag a run in the third courtesy of a wild pitch. That run proved to be enough through seven innings for Hughes, who turned in a stellar outing that began with setting down his first eight batters. After giving up a single, he retired five straight into the fifth inning. With one down and runners on the corners in the fifth, a comebacker to the mound pulled the Engineer runner off third, and he was erased after getting caught in a rundown. On the play, runners moved up to second and third, but Hughes escaped the inning unscathed with a fly out to right.

He then induced an outfield fly to get out of a two-on, two-out jam in the sixth and went 1-2-3 in the seventh, setting the stage for Wheaton's two-run bottom half. Senior Jake Yagjian (Brewster, MA/Nauset Regional) and freshman Sean Munley (Trenton, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton) plated a run apiece for a 3-0 Lyon advantage. The Engineers brought home their only run in the eighth, chasing Hughes while narrowing their deficit to two, but the Blue and White responded with four runs in the home half.

Sophomore Jeff Lieneck (Foxboro, MA/Xaverian Brothers) opened the frame with a single up the middle, and junior Nick Pecora (Highland Park, NJ/Immaculata) followed with an RBI double to left and advanced to third on the throw. Pecora then scored on sophomore pinch hitter Sean Buckley's (Webster, MA/Bartlett) fielder's choice. Buckley was eventually plated on a bases-loaded walk to senior Scott Guillerault (South Portland, ME/South Portland), and Munley's sac fly pushed home Wheaton's fourth run.

Junior closer Josh Simmons (Cranston, RI/Cranston West), who entered the game in the eighth and retired his only batter, set down three straight hitters in the ninth after allowing a leadoff single. Simmons picked up his ninth save of the season, just two shy of the program's second-highest single-season total.

Pecora finished the game 2-for-4 with an RBI and run, sophomore Paul Malaguti (Andover, MA/Andover) went 2-for-4 and scored twice, and Munley drove in a pair of runs. Guillerault and Yagjian each drew three walks. Three Wheaton pitchers limited the Engineer offense to four singles.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 4/26/08.
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