CAMBRIDGE, Mass.. -- The Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team dropped the first game in a three-game series, 8-6, to host Massachusetts Institute of Technology this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Fran O'Brien Field in Cambridge, Mass. The Lyons fall to 13-10 and 4-3 in NEWMAC play, while the Engineers improve to 8-14-1 and 3-4.

MIT saw eight different batters collect at least one hit and finished with 13 as a team, while taking advantage of four Wheaton errors. The home team took the lead for good with two runs in the second and added three big insurance runs with one in the seventh and two in the eighth to secure the win.

Senior right fielder Jake Studley (Barrington, R.I.) paced the Wheaton offense, going 3-5 with a pair of doubles, a run batted in and a walk. He is now eight for his last 11 at-bats with two homers and four doubles. Junior third baseman Nick Croteau (Cumberland, R.I.) hit his third home run of the season and second in as many games, while driving in a run, scoring twice and drawing a walk. Sophomore center fielder AJ Guindon (Coventry, R.I.) was 2-5 with a double, a walk, a run batted in and a run scored. Senior right-handed starter Gavin Reily (Bridgewater, Mass.) (4-2) was tagged with the loss after giving up six runs (four earned) in six and a third innings on 11 hits, while fanning three batters.

First year Malachi Soqui (Castaic, Calif.) led MIT at the plate, going 3-5 with a home run, three runs batted and a run scored, while senior first baseman Nick Aiello (Freehold, N.J.) collected three hits in five at-bats, including a double, knocked in a run and scored a run. Junior second baseman Kyle Sonandres (Torrance, Calif.) was 2-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Junior right-handed starter Graham Cartwright (La Jolla, Calif.) picked up the win (3-2), giving up two runs on six hits and five walks to go with seven strikeouts in five innings of work. Sophomore righty Saketh Gabbita (Ashburn, Va.) came in to throw an inning, giving up one hit and striking out a batter to earn his first save of the season.

The Lyons faced a four-run deficit heading into the ninth, but were looking to rally when they loaded the bases with no outs. Senior first baseman Drew Spirito (Cranston, R.I.) worked a leadoff walk, sophomore Amedeo Ucci Jr (Warwick, R.I.) came off the bench to rap a single to left and junior shortstop Cavan Brady (Great Barrington, Mass.) was issued a free base on four balls. Gabbita entered the game for the Engineers and was able to retire the next two Wheaton batters before Guindon singled through the left side to make it 8-5 with Sprito scoring. Croteau reached on an error to keep the visitor's hopes alive with Ucci Jr scoring the sixth run, but that would be the final run for Wheaton.

The teams traded single runs in the first inning to keep the game tied. Croteau and Studley were each issued walks with one out for the Lyons before senior first baseman Drew Spirito (Cranston, R.I.) came through with a two-out RBI single to plate Croteau with the first run of the game. Sophomore left fielder Will Haskell (Natick, Mass.) drew a walk to load the bases, but Cartwright was able to induce a ground out to limit the damage. The Engineers were quick to answer in the bottom of the frame with Schoenfield opening the inning with a double and one out later junior catcher Jake Sonandres (Torrance, Calif.) traded places with him after doubling down the left field line to tie the contest at 1-1. Reily got the next two outs to keep it tied. 

MIT took advantage of an error to add two unearned runs in the second to take its first lead and did not trail for the remainder of the day. Aiello laced a single to left center to open the frame, before junior right fielder Erik Anderson (Palos Verdes, Calif.) reached on an error. Senior shortstop Cory O'Shea (Glen Allen, Va.) singled to load the bases with no outs. Schoenfield later knocked in Aiello with a sacrifice fly to left and Kyle Sonadres lifted a single to left to give the home team a 3-1 margin.

Wheaton pulled to within a run in the third inning, courtesy of a leadoff homer off the bat of Croteau to make it 3-2. The Engineers showed some power of their own in the fifth when sophomore left fielder Michael Finch (Brentwood, Tenn.) was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Soqui followed with his fifth long ball of the year to give MIT a 5-2 lead.

The Lyons answered with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth to keep it a one-run game. Junior second baseman Mike Maher (Jefferson, Mass.) ripped a one-out single through the left side, before Guindon doubled to left to put both runners in scoring position. Studley came through with a two-out single to bring home Maher with the third Wheaton run. Senior catcher Zach DeMattio (North Attleboro, Mass.) reached on an error and Guindon scored to pull the visitors to within 5-4.

The Engineers took what the Lyons gave them in the seventh to squeeze out a single run. Jake Sonadres reached on an error to lead off the frame, before Finch singled up the middle to put Sonadres on second. One out later, Aiello doubled to left center to plate Sonadres with the sixth MIT run. 

The Cambridge nine tacked on two more runs in the eighth that proved to be the difference. Jake Sonandres knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly to center and Soqui later stroked a run-scoring single through the left side to give the Engineers an 8-4 cushion.

The teams will meet again tomorrow in doubleheader action at Sidell Stadium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass. with a noon first pitch.