Saturday ceremonies to honor 1997 softball and 2006 baseball teams

April 12, 2007

NORTON, MA- Separate ceremonies will occur Saturday at Wheaton College to commemorate the 1997 softball team, the program's first to qualify for the College World Series, as well as last year's baseball squad, the institution's initial NCAA runner up in a team sport. Each ceremony will be built into a schedule of events surrounding the teams' New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) doubleheaders against Clark University, which both begin at 12:00 p.m.

Prior to the baseball twinbill in Sidell Stadium, senior captains Adam Laplante (Harwich, MA/Harwich) and Brandon Leonard (Brockton, MA/Brockton) will present NCAA Championship jackets and plaques to President Ronald Crutcher and his wife, Betty Neal Crutcher, as well as to Jack Sidell, the facility's namesake and a college trustee emeritus. Executive Director of Athletics Chad Yowell will help facilitate the ceremony.

In another presentation following the two baseball contests, players and coaches from the 2006 team will receive commemorative jackets of a squad that went 42-10 and claimed its first NCAA New England Regional Tournament crown. The Lyons advanced to the national championship game last spring in Grand Chute, Wisconsin.

On the Clark Field softball diamond, Wheaton's games will be followed by a ceremony honoring the 1997 team, which went 45-7, won the NCAA Northeast Regional Tournament and finished third at the College World Series in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Randi Carine '97 and Dina Terceira '99, both of whom drew National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America accolades that spring, are expected to attend. Yowell will preside over the presentation, as former players and coaches will receive Wheaton softball fleece jackets.

Coincidentally, depending upon the outcome of the Lyons' softball doubleheader at the United States Coast Guard Academy on Friday, 18th-year head coach Gina Loudenburg could enter Saturday with a chance that day of becoming the 15th coach in Division III history with 500 wins. She currently has 497.

Wheaton baseball is currently ranked seventh nationally and first in New England by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), as the Lyons are 18-7 overall. At 6-2 in the NEWMAC, the Blue and White stands alone atop the seven-team league. Wheaton's softball squad is 17-11 overall after a 6-8 start, and the Lyons' 7-3 league mark has them tied for third in the nine-team conference's standings.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 4/12/07.
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Upcoming Schedule

7-12-Mar Sat-Thu Spring Trip N TBA
19-Mar Thu Bridgewater St. (2) H 3:00pm
21-Mar Sat Coast Guard (2) H 12:00pm