AUBURNDALE, Fla. - The Wheaton College baseball team picked up back-to-back wins over Ripon College on Sunday at the RussMatt Invitational, hanging on for a 3-2 win over the Red Hawks in game one before shutting out their opponent 7-0 in the final contest. 

With the win the Lyons move to 3-1 on the season, while the Red Hawks fall to 1-2. 

GAME ONE
Wheaton sophomore righty Dan Southerland picked up the win after pitching 6.1 innings, striking out seven batters and giving up just two walks. The sophomore started on fire, sitting down the Red Hawks in order through five innings. Eric Dumas earned his first save of the season after closing out the ninth. 

The Lyons got things going early in the contest, scoring twice in the top of the first, starting with an RBI groundout by Justin Silvestro. The shot to short allowed senior Jimmy Smith to come home. Matt Lavanchy knocked in the other run of the inning with a single to right field that brought Mike Beneduce. 

Wheaton added another run in the top of the sixth with Lavanchy coming in on a wild pitch. The senior had reached earlier in the inning on a triple to center field.

Ripon cut the deficit to one run in the bottom half of the inning with an RIB single by Jake Reinke and an RBI groundout from Nick Kita. 

GAME TWO
Junior Jack Fant started game two on the mound for the Lyons, pitching seven complete innings, striking out one and surrendering just two hits. Justin Gallagher and Jordan Jenkins also saw time in the victory. 

The Lyons held the Red Hawks to just two hits in the second game, while going on to score seven runs of their own on nine hits. 

Smith knocked in the games first run in the third inning with a sacrifice fly to center field, brining in Justin Sellar. 

Two more runs came across in the fourth inning with both Zachary Goodwin-Boyd and Lavanchy picking up RBI's. 

Wheaton pushed ahead to a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth, scoring three runs on one hit and three Ripon errors. Sellar's picked up two RBI's in the inning after doubling down the left field line, sending both Jared Sharkey and Goodwin-Boyd home. First-year Willy Boyd earned his first RBI of his career moments later with a sacrifice bunt that scored Lavanchy. 

Lavanchy ended the scoring for Wheaton with an RBI single through the right side in the seventh. 

UP NEXT
Wheaton returns to the field at 9 a.m. on Monday, March 14 for a match-up against Westfield State in game five of the RussMatt Invite.

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