NORTON, Mass. -- The Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team won its 11th straight game with a sacrifice fly to give the Lyons a 3-2 walk-off victory this afternoon over visiting Babson College to clinch the regular season crown and secure the top seed in the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference Championship Tournament in the first game of a league doubleheader at Sidell Stadium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass. The Lyons improve to 24-10 overall and 13-3 in league play, while the Beavers slip to 23-12 and 12-4. Both teams received at least one vote in the most recent National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association/D3baseball.com Coaches Poll this week.

Senior right fielder Jake Studley (Barrington, R.I.) was 3-4 in the game for Wheaton, while junior second baseman Mike Maher (Jefferson, Mass.) and sophomore center fielder AJ Guindon (Coventry, R.I.) each collected a pair of hits. Senior reliever Zach Clesas (Johnston, R.I.) retired the only man he faced in the ninth to earn the win for the Lyons and improve to 2-1. Senior starting pitcher Gavin Reily (Bridgewater, Mass.) allowed two runs on seven hits and three walks to go with four strikeouts in seven innings of work. 

Senior second baseman Thomas Lapham (Charlestown, Mass.) was 2-4  for the Beavers and Santos was 1-4 with a run scored and a run batted in. Junior relief pitcher Stephen McLendon (Nashua, N.H.) (2-2) was saddled with the loss after giving up a run on two hits and three walks against three strikeouts. Starting southpaw Tim Noone (Needham, Mass.) gave up two unearned runs on seven hits and two walks and fanned six over six innings for Babson. 

Neither team had scored a run since the third inning when the Lyons came to bat in the bottom of the ninth of the first game with the score tied at 2-2. Guindon led off the frame with a single to right field and advanced to second on a miscue by the right fielder. Studley was later intentionally walked with one out, before senior catcher Zach DeMattio (North Attleboro, Mass.) worked a walk after being down in the count, 1-2, to load the bases. Senior first baseman Drew Spirito (Cranston, R.I.) sent a fly ball to short right field, but it was deep enough to get Guindon home, ahead of the throw to the plate, with the winning run to clinch the regular-season crown for Wheaton.

The Beavers took an early 2-0 lead with two runs in the top of the third. Senior Jack Pirkl (Bridgewaters, N.Y.) drilled a leadoff single through the left side and advanced to second on a passed ball and to third on a ground out. Sophomore third baseman Tanner Santos (Bethany, Conn.) followed with an RBI single to center field to put the visitors on the board. Senior first baseman Josh Yellen (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) followed with a double down the left field line to put Santos at third before he raced home on a ground out for a two-run lead.

The Lyons responded right away with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. Guindon reached on an error to open the inning before Maher singled to left. Studley reached on an infield single and every runner took another base on a throwing error that allowed Guindon to score Wheaton's first run of the day. Maher later scored on a wild pitch to knot the game at 2-2.