NORTON, Mass. -- The Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team led 9-0 after four innings, but host United States Coast Guard Academy scored eight runs in the final four innings before the Lyons came away with a 9-8 victory this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference action at Nitchman Field in New London, Conn. The Lyons improve to 16-10 overall and 7-3 in league play, while the Bears fall to 16-9 and 7-3.

Wheaton got on the board first with a pair of runs in the opening frame, before breaking the game open early with six runs in the top of the second inning for a seemingly secure 8-0 lead. The Lyons added what proved to be an important insurance run in the fourth inning.

Wheaton received 10 of its 13 hits from the first four batters in its lineup. Senior first baseman Drew Spirito (Cranston, R.I.) was 2-6 with two runs batted in and a pair of runs scored, while sophomore center fielder AJ Guindon (Coventry, R.I.) was 3-5 with a run batted in, a walk and two runs scored. Junior second baseman Mike Maher (Jefferson, Mass.) also collected three hits and rapped out two doubles. First year Anthony Teberio (North Andover, Mass.) knocked in three runs and drew a walk for the Lyons. Sophomore right-hander Liam Goldthwaite (Braintree, Mass.) (1-2) earned his first collegiate win after allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk to go with four strikeouts in six innings pitched. 

Junior center fielder Blake Carroll (Lake O'Lakes, Fla.) led all players with four RBI after hitting two home runs and a double for the home team. Junior starting pitcher John Thigpen (Tuscaloosa, Alabama) took the loss (0-4) after allowing seven runs (four earned) on six hits and a walk in addition to a strikeout. First year righty Aidan Anderson (Waukesha, Wis.) was excellent in relief for USCGA, allowing just two hits and no runs over three innings, while issuing one free pass and striking out two.

The Lyons loaded the bases with two outs in the first with Guindon leading off with an infield single, before Spirito followed with a single of his own. Senior catcher Zach DeMattio (North Attleboro, Mass.) drew his conference-leading 27th walk of the season to load the bases. Following another out, it looked like Coast Guard would escape the jam unscathed, but an error allowed two runs to score for a 2-0 Wheaton lead. 

The Lyons sent nine men to the plate in the second and watched six of them score to take an 8-0 lead. First year left fielder Kevin Matos (Lawrence, Mass.) reached on a single to left before sophomore right fielder Amedeo Ucci Jr (Warwick, R.I.) reached on an error to put runners on the corners Guindon followed with an RBI single to left to give Wheaton a 3-0 lead. Spirito doubled home two more runs and Teberio blasted a three-run homer over the left field fence for his first collegiate long ball and an 8-0 Lyons' advantage. 

Wheaton added a run in the fourth on DeMattio's fourth homer of the year to lead off the inning and give the visitors a 9-0 lead. 

Coast Guard began its comeback with two runs in the sixth and continued that trend over the next three innings with two runs in each of those frames. Junior right fielder Justin Stasiak (Effort, Pa.) reached on an error to open the bottom half of the sixth inning and came around to score on Carroll's homer to left center to cut the deficit to 8-2.

Sophomore left fielder John Carroll (Yardley, Pa.) singled to left and sophomore Charles Red (Panama City, Fla.) also singled before both runners moved up a base on a ground out. Stasiak plated another run with a single to left field and senior second baseman Nate Nam (Cypress, Calif.) delivered a sacrifice fly to plate Red with the fourth run of the game for the Bears.

Carroll led off with a double to center for Coast Guard in the eighth and came around to score on a Greg Boland (Acworth, Ga.) single to right field, before the Bears scored on a ground out to cut the deficit to 9-6 after eight innings. Coast Guard had one last gasp in the ninth with Nam working a one-out walk and Carroll launching his second homer of the game over the left field fence with two outs to pull the home team within a run at 9-8. The Lyons held off their host to escape with the win. 

Wheaton returns to action when it hosts University of Massachusetts Boston tomorrow at Sidell Field for a 3:30 p.m. first pitch, while Coast Guard heads to Worcester, Mass. on April 22 to take on NEWMAC foe Worcester Polytechnic Institute at 6:00 p.m. in the first game of a three-game series.