NORTON, MA- In a match-up between teams both ranked among the
top 16 in D3baseball.com's national poll, Wheaton College senior
Nick Kostaras (North Attleboro, MA/North
Attleboro) carried a one-hit shutout against Eastern
Connecticut State University into the seventh inning, as he and
four relievers bottled up one of the nation's top offenses during a
7-3 win on Thursday in Sidell Stadium.
In their final home game of the year, the 16th-ranked Lyons
improved to 31-8 while giving head coach Eric
Podbelski his 399th career win. The 14th-ranked Warriors
are now 26-11, as Wheaton moved to 4-0 at home in the all-time
series. The Lyons sit second in the New England rankings, while
Eastern is fourth.
Kostaras moved to 5-1 after allowing one run on two hits in
six-plus innings, striking out one. He limited an offense that
entered the week third in Division III in runs per game and
averaged 13.4 hits. Sophomore Hal Landers (Salem,
NH/Salem) went 3-for-4 with two RBI, as every starter had
at least one hit. Freshman Sean Ryan (Norton,
MA/Norton) had two hits and two runs, classmate
Eric Jensen (Gorham, NH/Gorham) provided two hits,
and junior Hadi Raad (Hastings-on-Hudson,
NY/Hastings) scored twice.
Juniors Andrew Dewing (Swampscott,
MA/Swampscott) and Robert Perry (Manchester,
CT/Manchester) each turned in one hit and an RBI for the
Warriors, while senior Travis Bass (West Hartford,
CT/Hall) stole a pair of bases. Classmate Will
Musson (Wethersfield, CT/Wethersfield) suffered his first
loss in five decisions after yielding five earned runs on 10 hits
in 5.1 innings, striking out six.
The hosts pushed three runs across in the second inning, with
the first scoring on a wild pitch before Landers stroked a two-run
single into right field. Wheaton added to its lead in the fifth,
with junior Sean Munley (Trenton, NJ/The Hun School of
Princeton) lofting a sacrifice fly.
In the sixth, the Blue and White plated another three runs for a
7-0 advantage. Ryan beat out a potential inning-ending double-play
ball for an RBI, senior Paul Malaguti (Andover,
MA/Andover) followed with a two-out triple, and sophomore
Dan Haugh (Andover, MA/Saint John's Prep) added an
RBI knock.
Through the first six innings, Kostaras yielded only one hit,
getting 13 of his 18 outs via ground balls while pitching around
three infield errors. However, Eastern Connecticut State put its
first three runners on in the seventh, with Perry picking up his
team's first hit since the second inning when he lined an RBI
single into left field, chasing the senior righty and getting the
bullpen involved.
Freshman Justin Santiago (Bronx,
NY/Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy) entered the game with
two on and no one out but retired three of the four batters he
faced, fanning two without allowing the Warriors to get closer than
7-1. The visitors got two more runs in the eighth with a pair of
productive at bats, as a groundout plated the first run before
Dewing hit a sac fly, but they came no closer. Freshman
Jordan Wylie (Plymouth, MA/Avon Old Farms School)
got the first two outs in the eighth before senior Jon Shepard (Salisbury, MA/Triton Regional) recorded the final
four outs, including the last two of the game on strikes.
The Lyons complete their regular season slate with three games
between Friday and Saturday, beginning with a 3:30 p.m. contest
tomorrow at Roger Williams University.
