2008 NCAA DIVISION III NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL TOURNAMENT - Guillerault's late-game heroics lift Wheaton over Worcester State, 4-3 in 12 innings

May 14, 2008

HARWICH, MA- Wheaton College baseball senior Scott Guillerault's (South Portland, ME/South Portland) two-run blast over the left field fence with two outs in the bottom of the ninth pushed the second-seeded Lyons into extra innings with seventh seed Worcester State College before scoring the winning run in the 12th for a thrilling 4-3 victory during Wednesday night's NCAA Division III New England Regional Tournament opening round at Whitehouse Field. Sophomore Jeff Lieneck (Foxboro, MA/Xaverian Brothers) had the walk-off single.

Playing in their fourth straight regional, the Lyons went to extra innings in the first round for the second consecutive year, having matched a Division III Tournament record for longest game by going 16 innings against Curry College in 2007. Wheaton returns to the eight-team, double-elimination tournament tomorrow night to face third-seeded Keene State College at 8:00 p.m.

The Blue and White, which is ranked 11th nationally according to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), won for the 31st time in 35 games to improve to 33-8. The Lancers dropped to 23-17 and will play in an elimination game against number-six Saint Joseph's College of Maine tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.

In the ninth, sophomore Paul Malaguti (Andover, MA/Andover) was hit by a pitch with one away and moved to second on a ground ball to third before Guillerault launched his third home run of the season to knot the game at three. Guillerault again came up big three innings later, belting a one-out single to center, moving to second on freshman Sean Munley's (Trenton, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton) base knock to short before being brought around on sophomore Jeff Lieneck's (Foxboro, MA/Xaverian Brothers) two-out single up the middle.

Wheaton struck first in the opening inning, plating a run on a two-out rally on just one hit, as Guillerault, who went 2-for-4 with three runs and two RBI, was plunked before moving to second when Munley reached on catcher's interference. Junior Robert Foote (Walpole, MA/Walpole) delivered an RBI single into left field.

Senior southpaw Chris McDonough (Weymouth, MA/Weymouth) set down seven of his first eight batters before running into trouble in the third. With one down, Lancer sophomore Ryan LaPrade (Leominster, MA/Leominster) and junior Matt Hart (Easton, MA/Oliver Ames) poked a single and double, respectively, but McDonough thwarted the threat by catching his next batter on strikes before ending the frame with a groundout.

In the bottom of the third, Wheaton loaded the bags with one down, but Worcester State sophomore Joey Lucier (Brockton, MA/Brockton) escaped the inning unscathed following a liner to first and looking strikeout. Lucier limited the Lyon offense to just a single base knock through the first 4.2 innings.

The Lancers evened the score in the top half of the fifth, as LaPrade singled with two out, stole second and scored on an infield error. LaPrade came around on a heads-up base running play, beating out the throw from first to home after Hart narrowly reached on the defensive miscue. Lucier went 1-2-3 the next inning, fanning his final two batters to up his total to nine strikeouts through six. He finished the game with 11 strikeouts.

Worcester State pushed across a pair of unearned runs in the eighth when freshman pinch hitter Nick Fluegge (Ware, MA/Ware) provided the big blow with a two-out, two-run single up the middle. Junior closer Josh Simmons (Cranston, RI/Cranston West) prevented further damage with an inning-ending strikeout.

Senior Keith Pescosolido (Newton, MA/Newton North) and junior Jared Barnes (North Attleboro, MA/Bishop Feehan) combined for four relief innings of one-hit ball with five strikeouts. Barnes picked up the win. Foote and Munley accounted for two hits apiece, while Guillerault and Malaguti were both hit twice by a pitch.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 8/25/08.
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