BRISTOL, RI- Senior Paul Malaguti (Andover,
MA/Andover) cracked a tie-breaking solo home run in the
eighth inning, leading the nationally-ranked Wheaton College
baseball team past Roger Williams University, 4-3 on Friday at
Paolino Field and giving head coach Eric Podbelski
his 400th career victory.
Now 32-8, the Lyons are ranked 16th in D3baseball.com's national
poll and second in the New England Intercollegiate Baseball
Association (NEIBA) rankings. The Hawks fell to 12-25, as their
season came to a close.
As the only head coach in the program's 13-year varsity history,
Podbelski improved to 400-153-4. Malaguti finished 3-for-4 with two
runs, as the home run was his second of the season. Freshman
Eric Jensen (Gorham, NH/Gorham) provided a
game-tying two-run double in the seventh in support of junior
reliever Kevin Calabro (Andover, MA/Andover), who
tossed four innings of two-hit, shutout ball for the win. He struck
out four without issuing a walk.
Senior Jon Shepard (Salisbury, MA/Triton
Regional) retired the Hawks in order in the ninth for his
ninth save. Freshman starter Frank Holbrook (Middletown,
RI/Portsmouth Abbey School) yielded three runs on six hits
in four innings while receiving the no-decision.
Senior Grant Bolin (Simsbury, CT/Simsbury) and
freshman John Oppenhimer (Westport, CT/Staples)
each had two hits while scoring once for Roger Williams, and junior
PJ Gouthro (Walpole, MA/Walpole) carried a
no-hitter into the fourth before suffering the loss. He allowed all
four runs on six hits in 7.1 frames, striking out five and walking
two.
Malaguti's one-out single in the fourth ended Gouthro's no-hit
bid, but the Lyons didn't put multiple runners on base in the same
inning until the seventh, when they erased a 3-0 deficit. Senior
Jeff Lieneck's (Foxboro, MA/Xaverian Brothers)
one-out single plated Malaguti before Jensen, the next batter,
ripped a two-run double to left field.
With one down in the eighth, Malaguti launched his go-ahead
dinger beyond the right field fence before Calabro retired all
three Hawks during the home half to complete his four-inning stint.
Shepard closed Roger Williams out in the ninth, fanning his final
batter looking.
The hosts scored twice in the first inning on two hits and two
walks before making it 3-0 in the fourth, but they did not put more
than one runner on base in any of the other seven innings.
Wheaton completes its regular season slate tomorrow with a
doubleheader at Suffolk University that's set for a 12:00 p.m.
start.
