NORTON, MA- The top-seeded Wheaton College baseball team
advanced to the championship round of the New England Women's and
Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament for the 10th time
with an 11-4 semifinal win against number-three Worcester
Polytechnic Institute (WPI) on Saturday in Sidell Stadium.
The Lyons, who are ranked 24th nationally and tied for second in
the New England poll, improved to 24-7 and will play for the
automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament tomorrow at 11:00 a.m.,
with a second contest to follow if necessary. Now 21-9, WPI, which
is receiving regional votes, falls into the loser's bracket and
will play again at 4:00 p.m. against either Babson College or the
United States Coast Guard Academy, who square off in an elimination
game at 12:45 p.m.
Freshman Corey Laliberte (Fall River, MA/B.M.C.
Durfee) earned the win, allowing three runs over 6.2
innings while striking out four and walking two. Junior
Sean Munley (Trenton, NJ/The Hun School of
Princeton) went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, and
sophomore Dan Haugh (Andover, MA/Saint John's
Prep) had a home run among his two hits while scoring
twice and driving in four runs.
Senior Paul Malaguti (Andover, MA/Andover)
added two hits and two runs, junior Hadi Raad
(Hastings-on-Hudson, NY/Hastings) had a pair of hits while
plating two, sophomore Hal Landers (Salem,
NH/Salem) smacked two hits, and freshman Sean Ryan
(Norton, MA/Norton) scored twice.
Senior Mike Swanton (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro)
reached base four times, going 2-for-2 with a run and a walk while
getting hit by a pitch. Classmate James Kokolis
(Manchester, NH/Central) posted two knocks, while senior
Matt Moreau (Manchester, NH/Central) plated a
pair. Senior Ryan Marques (Gloucester,
MA/Gloucester) was saddled with the loss, yielding six
earned runs on 11 hits in 5.1 frames.
The Lyons broke through with a pair of two-out runs in the
second, getting on the board when Raad drilled an RBI triple to the
fence that just eluded the center fielder. Junior Tad Skelley (Wolfeboro, NH/Holderness School) followed with a
base knock that plated Raad.
WPI had one hit in each of the first four innings but was held
off the board by Laliberte, as a pair of ground-ball double plays
helped the cause, prior to the righty posting his first 1-2-3
inning in the fifth. During the home half, the Lyons plated four
runs on two hits and a trio of infield errors, as Haugh's three-run
blast down the left field line highlighted the frame.
The Engineers cut their deficit in half the following inning,
when Moreau smacked a two-run double. WPI trailed 6-3 heading into
the bottom portion, but the Lyons countered with five runs,
including two on a Munley single. Haugh and Raad added RBI doubles.
The Engineers tacked on the game's final run in the ninth.
