NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College baseball team needed five runs
in the bottom of the eighth inning to overcome a two-run deficit
against visiting University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth on
Thursday, as the Lyons twice rallied during a wild 13-11 victory at
Sidell Stadium.
Ranked 18th nationally by D3baseball.com and second regionally
according to the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association
(NEIBA), Wheaton won its 10th straight game to improve to
27-7. When scoring at least eight runs this spring, the Lyons
are 20-0. UMass-Dartmouth fell to 18-14.
Sophomore hurler David Longley
(Brunswick, ME/Brunswick) earned his first collegiate
victory, giving up one unearned run in two innings of relief, while
senior closer Jon Shepard
(Salisbury, MA/Triton Regional) worked the ninth to pick
up his seventh save of the season.
Juniors Hadi Raad
(Hastings-on-Hudson, NY/Hastings) and Tad Skelley
(Wolfeboro, NH/Holderness School) went a combined 6-for-9
with seven RBI from the eighth and ninth batting spots in the
order, each picking up three hits, while Skelley notched four
RBI. Junior Sean Munley (Trenton,
NJ/The Hun School of Princeton) and sophomore Dan Haugh (Andover,
MA/Saint John's Prep) notched two hits apiece, with Munley
scoring four runs and Haugh three, while freshman Sean Ryan (Norton,
MA/Norton) also had two hits. Ryan and freshman
Eric
Jensen (Gorham, NH/Gorham) each drove in a pair of
runs.
Junior Matt Ryan (Uxbridge, MA/Uxbridge) went
4-for-5 with three runs, three RBI and two doubles to lead the
Corsairs. Classmate Anthony Fiorita (North Reading,
MA/Saint John's Prep) was 3-for-5 and had four RBI and two
doubles, while sophomore John Granahan (Hanover,
MA/Hanover) posted three hits and two runs. Senior
Jeff Macchi (Franklin, MA/Franklin) totaled two
hits and scored twice, and junior Ryan McDermott (Pembroke,
MA/Pembroke) had two doubles. Sophomore Pat
Lavey (Cranston, RI/Cranston East) suffered his second
straight loss to the Lyons, surrendering four runs in 1.1
innings.
The Lyons used three hits and a pair of Corsair miscues to
pounce on top early, leading 4-0 after one, before UMass-Dartmouth
scored five over the next two frames. Jensen, Munley, Skelley
and senior Jeff Lieneck
(Foxboro, MA/Xaverian Brothers) each had an RBI for the
hosts. In the second, the visitors strung together three
doubles, with Fiorita and freshman Nick Fuller (Acushnet,
MA/New Bedford) recording run-scoring hits.
Fiorita's two-out, two-run double in the third made the score 5-4
in favor of the Corsairs.
After leaving the bases loaded in the first and third innings,
Wheaton regained the lead in the fourth, with Raad's two-RBI single
with two down serving as the big blow. The Lyons extended
their advantage to 8-5 following their two-run sixth, as Skelley
poked a two-out, two-run single through the right side, before
UMass-Dartmouth countered with four runs in the seventh for a 9-8
lead. Four different Corsairs picked up an RBI in the frame,
including another from Fiorita.
The visitors tacked on another run in the eighth before Wheaton
rattled off five runs on five hits in the home half for a 13-10
advantage. Skelley's one-out RBI double proved to be the
game-winning hit, while Ryan's two-out, two-run triple provided the
Lyons with added insurance. UMass-Dartmouth did not go away
quietly in the ninth, as the Corsairs used a hit and two errors to
get within 13-11 before loading the bases with two down, but
Shepard eventually induced a game-ending groundout to short.
The Lyons hit the road for the first time in nearly two weeks
tomorrow with a non-conference game against the University of
Southern Maine at 4:00 p.m.
