Wheaton takes all three games in weekend regular season series

NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College baseball team, ranked no.10 overall in the latest D3baseball.com national poll, swept a pair of New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) games against Babson College on Saturday afternoon at Sidell Stadium. The Lyons won game one by a score of 11-2 (seven innings) and posted an 8-3 triumph in the nightcap.

Wheaton 11, Babson 2 (seven innings)

Junior Alec Palioca (Wrentham, Mass./King Philip Regional) went the distance in game one for Wheaton allowing five hits, two runs (both earned), three walks and a season-high nine strikeouts.

Babson junior Derek Richards (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) was dealt the loss on two-and-two-thirds innings, six hits, nine runs (two earned) and five free passes.

Senior Dan Gusovsky (Andover, Mass./Andover) and freshman Matt Lavanchy (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) both drove in runs in the second to give the Lyons a 2-0 lead. Gusovsky plated classmate Eric Jensen (Gorham, N.H./Gorham) with an infield single and Lavanchy knocked in Gusovsky later in the frame on a double to right field.

In the third, Wheaton scored nine runs on six hits, one error and two runners left on base to put the game away. Sophomore Tyler Contillo (Montville, Conn./Montville) drew a bases loaded walk to bring across the first run of the inning. Lavanchy connected on a two-run triple to right-center field and senior Sean Ryan (Norton, Mass./Norton) ripped a two-run single to left field to highlight the scoring.

Palioca silenced Babson in the fourth with a pair of strikeouts and tossed three-straight 1-2-3 innings before allowing two runs on a single by senior Pat Matvichuk (Middleton, Mass./Masconomet Regional) in the seventh.

Wheaton 8, Babson 3

Junior right-hander Nick Filloramo (Rochester, Mass./Old Rochester Regional) evened his record to 2-2 overall on the season going six innings, yielding eight hits, two runs (both earned), one walk and two strikeouts. Freshman Eric Dumas (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) pitched a scoreless eighth with one strikeout while junior Ryan Grant (Easton, Mass./Avon Old Farms School) posted an identical line in the ninth.

Senior Brian Swanton (Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro) took the loss in game two on four innings pitched, four hits, three runs (two earned) and five walks.

The Beavers held a 1-0 lead after one half inning of play as senior Conor Kortmann (Manalapan, N.J./The Peddie School) singled home classmate Trevor Boyce (Canton, Mass./Catholic Memorial) from second base.

Wheaton tied up the game in the second on a sacrifice fly to center field from Gusovsky and tacked on a solo run in the fourth on a fielder's choice RBI by sophomore Kevin Foley Southbury, Conn./Pomperaug) for a 2-1 gap. Gusovsky added cushion room in the fifth with a two-run double to right-center before Lavanchy took advantage of his speed notching an inside the park home run to center.

Both teams exchanged one run each over the next two innings to cap the scoring. Sophomore Apolinar De la Cruz (Providence, R.I./Classical) had an RBI single down the left field line in the sixth and Foley connected for an RBI double down the left field line in the seventh.

In the two-game set, Lavanchy hit for the cycle, compiled a .667 (4-for-6) batting average, scored three runs and drove in five. The Lyons pitching staff posted a 2.81 earned run average (ERA), held the top hitting team in the NEWMAC to a .246 batting average – .71 points lower than their season average – and registered a 3.8 strikeout-to-walk ratio (15/4).

Wheaton (12-5, 6-0 NEWMAC) takes on WPI on Tuesday, April 2 at Worcester State University for a NEWMAC contest scheduled for 3:30 p.m. The Lyons defeated the Beavers, 5-4, yesterday to take the regular season series. Babson (7-7, 2-4 NEWMAC) visits MIT on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.