NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College baseball team exploded for 29
runs and 37 hits during its doubleheader sweep of New England
Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) foe United States
Coast Guard Academy on Saturday, as the Lyons won 16-0 and 13-5 in
Sidell Stadium.
Extending its winning streak to four games while outscoring its
opponents by a 46-13 margin during the stretch, Wheaton, which is
receiving national votes from D3baseball.com, improved to 12-5
overall while remaining in a first-place tie in the league
standings at 6-1. The Bears, who have dropped nine straight,
fell to 4-13 and 0-6.
During the seven-inning shutout, the Lyons pushed five runs
across with two down in the first and four each in the third and
fourth to capture a 14-0 lead through four. Not to be
overshadowed, sophomore righthander Nolan Corr
(Somersworth, NH/Saint Thomas Aquinas) continued his
torrid start to the season by retiring his first 11 batters in
order en route to his fourth win of the spring. Corr faced
two batters over the minimum in giving up two singles in five
innings while fanning two, as he lowered his earned run average to
a miniscule 0.74.
Offensively, Wheaton plated 16 runs despite stranding 13 in six
innings. Eight of its players turned in multiple-hit
showings. Sophomore Dan Haugh (Andover, MA/Saint
John's Prep) drove in four runs, homered and had two runs,
while freshman Sean Ryan (Norton, MA/Norton) went
deep for his first collegiate home run in plating three runs while
scoring twice with two hits.
Junior Tad Skelley (Wolfeboro, NH/Holderness
School) went 2-for-4 with three runs, two RBI and a pair
of walks, senior Paul Malaguti (Andover,
MA/Andover) was 2-for-2 with two RBI and two walks, while
sophomore John Keating (Duxbury, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon
School) had two hits and scored twice.
Juniors Sean Munley (Trenton, NJ/The Hun School of
Princeton) and Hadi Raad (Hastings-on-Hudson,
NY/Hastings) and freshman Justin Connor
(Arlington, MA/Arlington) recorded two hits apiece, while
freshman Eric Jensen (Gorham, NH/Gorham) drove in
two and scored two others.
Coast Guard freshman Riley Beecher (Elgin,
TX/Manor) suffered the loss, allowing 10 earned runs on 10
hits with one strikeout and five walks in three innings.
In game two, the Lyons and Bears were deadlocked at two at the
end of two before Wheaton scored two in the third and six the
following inning for a commanding 10-2 advantage. Coast Guard
got as close as 11-5 in the top half of the sixth but combined on
just two hits over the final three frames, while the hosts added a
pair of insurance runs in the seventh. Ryan provided the big
blow in the fourth, launching his second three-run blast of the day
to give the Blue and White a 7-2 lead.
Ryan's game consisted of two doubles and one home run while
going 3-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored. Haugh was
3-for-5 with a trio of RBI and two runs, while Munley rapped three
singles with two runs batted in. Junior Eric Laliberte (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) notched two hits and
three runs, senior Jeff Lieneck (Foxboro, MA/Xaverian
Brothers) had two hits and scored twice, while Malaguti
turned in two hits and two RBI. Jensen also added a pair of
hits.
Junior southpaw Kevin Calabro (Andover,
MA/Andover) picked up the win after striking out six and
walking one with five runs, two of which were earned, in 5.1
frames. Senior Jon Shepard (Salisbury, MA/Triton
Regional), sophomore David Longley (Brunswick,
ME/Brunswick) and freshman Jordan Wylie (Plymouth,
MA/Avon Old Farms School) combined to toss 3.2 shutout
innings of relief.
Three Bears had two hits each, while junior Jesse Karr
(Milan, MI/Milan) took the loss on the mound, giving up 10
runs, eight earned, with one strikeout and two walks in four
innings.
Wheaton heads to Bridgewater State College on Tuesday for a
non-league game at 3:30 p.m.
