NORTON, Mass. -- Senior shortstop Stephen Quigley (Halifax, Mass.) knocked in three runs and senior starting pitcher Zach Begin (Georgetown, Mass.) threw six innings of one-hit scoreless ball to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team over visiting Clark University, 12-1, this afternoon in a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference game at Sidell Stadium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass. The Lyons have won eight of their last 10 and improve to 10-7 overall and a perfect 3-0 in league play, while the Cougars fall to 10-6 and 1-2.

Wheaton has scored double-digits in seven of its 10 victories this season. The Lyons scored six runs in the bottom of the first inning to establish the tone for the game.

Quigley reached base four times, going 2-3 with a pair of walks and added three runs batted in and two runs scored for Wheaton. Begin evened his record at 1-1 after a season-high nine strikeouts and just two walks. Eight players registered at least one hit and one RBI on the day for the home team. Junior Cavan Brady (Great Barrington, Mass.) was 2-3 with two RBI and two runs scored, while senior catcher Zach DeMattio (North Attleboro, Mass.) reached base in all five plate appearances with a single, a double and a three walks to go with a run batted in. 

Clark was limited to just four hits on the day, but graduate student right fielder Chris Radovic's (Fairfield, Conn.) knock went over the fence for the Cougars' only run of the game. Junior Connor Rulnick (Middlefield, Conn.), sophomore catcher Anthony LoCosto (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and junior third baseman Anthony Keefe (Plymouth, Mass.) each singled for Clark as well. Sophomore left-handed starter Maxwell Gitlin (Pasadena, Calif.) (2-2) suffered the loss after giving up eight runs on eight hits and five walks to go with three strikeouts in five innings of work.

The first four batters of the game reached for the Lyons in the bottom of the first  to give them a 1-0 lead. Sophomore center fielder A.J. Guindon (Coventry, R.I.) laced a leadoff single up the middle before junior third baseman Nick Croteau (Cumberland, R.I.) and senior right fielder Jake Studley (Barrington, R.I.) drew consecutive walks to load the bases. DeMattio worked a walk to force in the first run for Wheaton. Following a pair of strikeouts, Gitlin looked to get out of the inning without further damage, but Quigley roped a two-out single to right field to plate a pair of runs for a 3-0 Lyons' lead. Brady reached on an infield single to drive in another run, before junior second baseman Mike Maher (Jefferson, Mass.) tripled to right center to knock in two more runs and give Wheaton a 6-0 cushion after one inning of play.

The Lyons tacked on another run in the second and one in the fifth to take an 8-0 lead. Studley walked, followed by a DeMattio double before sophomore left fielder Will Haskell (Natick, Mass.) brought home Studley with a ground out in the second. Brady singled to center, stole second and later scored on a two-out double off the bat of Guindon to make it 8-0 after five innings.

Wheaton loaded the bases with one out in the sixth, before Quigley drew an RBI walk and Brady drove in another run with a sacrifice fly for a 10-0 home margin.

The Lyons added two more runs in the eighth for good measure. Quigley singled and moved to third ahead of the first collegiate hit from first year pinch-hitter Jack Kriz (Barrington, R.I.), who singled to the gap in left center and took second on the throw to put both runners in scoring position. First year pinch-hitter Tommy Beauregard (Salem, Mass.) registered an RBI ground out and sophomore Chris Taranto (Slingerlands, N.Y.) brought home Wheaton's final run when he beat out a single to deep first base.

Radovic opened the top of the ninth with his fifth homer of the year to put the Cougars on the board.

The Lyons return to play on Thursday, April 7 when they host Salve Regina University for a 3:30 p.m. first pitch at Sidell Stadium, while Clark heads to Cambridge, Mass. for a NEWMAC doubleheader with Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 11:00 a.m.