Santigate goes 2-for-3 with an RBI

NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College baseball team fell to Salve Regina University, 9-2, on Thursday evening in a non-conference matchup at Sidell Stadium.

Seahawks' sophomore reliever Sean Healy (Wakefield, R.I./South Kingstown) picked up the win on three scoreless innings of work, alongside one hit, a walk and two strikeouts. Classmate Cory Poplawski (Syracuse, N.Y./Bishop Ludden) was handed a no-decision on three innings pitched, two hits, one run (earned), a free pass and four punchouts.

Wheaton starter Michael Bruemmel (Bridgewater, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham) shouldered the loss despite retiring the first 11 batters he faced in order. Bruemmel went five innings, yielded eight hits, six runs (all earned) and no walks in addition to a game-high five strikeouts. Junior Jordan Jenkins (Scituate, Mass./Norwell) and first-year Cody Kozin (Storrs, Conn./E.O. Smith) both pitched one scoreless inning out of the pen for the Lyons.

Sophomore catcher Joseph Santigate (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea) gave the Blue and White an early 1-0 lead in the second with a hard-hit single through the left side of the infield that plated classmate Thomas Landry (Hingham, Mass./BC High). Earlier in the frame, Landry roped a one-out double down the left field line and advanced to third base on a ground out to second by junior Matt Lavanchy (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) prior to scoring the game's first run.

Bruemmel retired the side in order in the third and got out of a two-out, first and second jam in the fourth before the Seahawks struck for six runs in the fifth inning.

Salve Regina sophomore Alek Kucich (Old Brookville, N.Y./Friends Academy) tied up the contest with an RBI single to left center and first-year John Militano (Miller Place, N.Y./Nashoba) followed later in the inning with a two-run double down the right field line to give the visitors a 3-1 advantage.

First-year Alex Perry (North Attleboro, Mass./Bishop Feehan) capped the scoring in the six-run frame with his team-leading fourth home run of the season, a three-run shot to left field, to bump the gap up to 7-1.

Senior Daniel Donohue (Westbury, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) added an RBI double to left center in the seventh and first-year David Neil (Randolph, Mass./Blue Hills Regional) plated a pair of runs with a single up the middle in the ninth to round out Salve Regina's scoring.

In the bottom half of the ninth, Wheaton first-year Kyle Heath (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) laced a one-out double down the left field line for his first collegiate hit. Heath came around to score later in the inning as classmate Matthew Cook (Harwich, Mass./Harwich) registered his first collegiate hit – a single through the left side of the infield – and RBI to make it 9-2.

Salve Regina first-year reliever Kyle Lefelar (Potomac, Md./St. John's College) then induced the game ending ground out, 6-4. The Seahawks used six relievers in the game highlighted by junior Mike Schuermann (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side) who threw one scoreless frame.

Wheaton (12-7) takes on Emerson College tomorrow in a conference matchup at Sidell Stadium with first pitch scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Salve Regina (11-7) hosts Roger Williams University in a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) doubleheader on Saturday at 12 p.m.

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