NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA- The Wheaton College baseball team, which is
receiving votes in this week's D3baseball.com national poll, scored
the final eight runs over the last four innings to take a 12-6
decision from non-league foe University of Massachusetts at
Dartmouth on Thursday at the UMass-Dartmouth Athletic Complex.
The Lyons, who improved to 13-3-1 all time against the Corsairs,
moved to 5-4 overall on the season in limiting an offense that had
averaged 22.7 runs on 19 hits during its prior three games.
UMass-Dartmouth had a five-game winning streak snapped in falling
to 6-4.
Freshman Sean Ryan (Norton, MA/Norton) was
3-for-6 with three runs, two RBI and a pair of stolen bases,
helping the Lyons tie a program record by swiping seven bags.
Senior Paul Malaguti (Andover, MA/Andover) was
2-for-4 with three RBI and two walks, while sophomore Hal Landers (Salem, NH/Salem) had two hits, two runs, two RBI,
two walks and two steals.
Sophomore Dan Haugh (Andover, MA/Saint John's
Prep) added two knocks and a pair of RBI, while senior
Jeff Lieneck (Foxboro, MA/Xaverian Brothers) had
two hits, including his first home run of the season, and scored
twice. Junior Sean Munley (Trenton, NJ/The Hun School of
Princeton) tacked on two of Wheaton's 15 hits, and
classmate Hadi Raad (Hastings-on-Hudson,
NY/Hastings) stole two bases.
Freshman southpaw Justin Santiago (Bronx,
NY/Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy) earned his first
collegiate victory after yielding one hit over a pair of shutout
innings in relief. Sophomore David Longley (Brunswick,
ME/Brunswick) fanned three in a pair of shutout frames
before senior Jon Shepard (Salisbury, MA/Triton
Regional) tossed a perfect ninth.
Junior Zak Talis (Lynnfield, MA/Lynnfield) led
the Corsairs by going 2-for-3 with three RBI, while senior
Jeff Macchi (Franklin, MA/Franklin) was 2-for-3
with two runs. Classmate Tom LaDore (Milford, CT/Joseph A.
Foran) went deep, and sophomore Dan DeMello
(Taunton, MA/Taunton) added a pair of RBI. Classmate
Pat Lavey (Cranston, RI/Cranston East) took the
loss, yielding four unearned runs on four hits in 1.1 innings.
At least one team scored in all but the eighth inning, with
Lieneck and LaDore trading solo home runs in the fourth to draw the
teams into a 3-3 deadlock. Haugh's bases-loaded walk with one down
forced in the go-ahead run during the fifth, but the Lyons stranded
three, and the Corsairs responded with three runs in the home half,
with DeMello's two-run single breaking a tie.
Malaguti's RBI groundout brought the visitors within 6-5 in the
sixth before they broke through for four in the seventh. Landers'
two-run double put Wheaton on top for good before Ryan and Malaguti
followed with run-scoring singles. Haugh, Malaguti and Ryan added
RBI hits during the ninth inning.
The Lyons are back in action tomorrow, as they open their home
slate by squaring off with Endicott College at 3:30 p.m.
