SALEM, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team rapped out 14 hits, including four from junior center fielder AJ Guindon (Coventry, Mass.) and the pitching staff allowed just one run on five hits, en-route to a 13-1 victory over host Salem State University this afternoon at Central Campus Field in Salem, Mass.

The Lyons, who received votes in the most recent D3baseball.com national poll, win their ninth in a row to improve to 11-2 on the season, while the Vikings fall to 2-8.

Wheaton scored eight runs in the first two innings with five in the first and three in the third, before scoring three times in the fifth and two more in the ninth. The Lyons have scored double-digit runs on six occasions this season and had 12 or more hits in eight different contests.

Guindon was 4-5 to register his second career four-hit outing and has now recorded multiple hits in six straight games as part of an eight-game hitting streak. He also scored three runs for Wheaton. Senior third baseman Nick Croteau (Cumberland, R.I.) was 2-4 with a double, two runs batted in, a walk and three runs scored, while senior catcher Robert Wirtanen (Brentwood, N.H.) drove in three runs on a 2-5 effort, including a double. Junior right fielder Amedeo Ucci (Warwick, R.I.) contributed going 2-3 with two runs scored and senior shortstop Cavan Brady (Sheffield, Mass.) knocked in three runs with a double. Senior right-handed starting pitcher Zach Clesas (Johnston, R.I.) surrendered just two hits and a pair of walks to go with a strikeout in six and a third innings pitched to gain the win to improve to 2-1. 

First year center fielder Aidan Lynch (North Andover, Mass.) paced the Salem State lineup, going 1-3 with a double and an RBI, while junior third baseman James Dolan (Rockland, Mass.) was 1-3 with a double. Sophomore right-hander Bobby Jellison (Salem, Mass.) took the loss, giving up eight runs (seven earned) on six hits and two walks in addition to a strikeout in one and a third innings pitched.

The Lyons scored five times in the top of the first inning to take a 5-0 lead to set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. Croteau singled to center to bring home Guindon with the team's first run, before Wirtanen doubled home two runs and sophomore left fielder Kevin Matos (Lawrence, Mass.) hit his team-leading fifth homer of the season to give Wheaton its fourth and fifth runs of the frame.

Ucci drew a walk to open the second, followed by a single from Guindon and a walk by Croteau to load the bases with one out. Brady delivered with a bases-clearing double to left field to increase the Lyon lead to 8-0.

Croteau ripped a two-run double to right field in the fifth inning to make it an even 10-0 count for Wheaton, before Wirtanen brought Croteau around to score the 11th run with a single to center field.

The Lyons tacked on two more runs in the ninth to give them a 13-0 cushion. Ucci was hit by a pitch to open the inning and first year pinch-hitter Marcus Ollivierre (Milton, Mass.) received a free pass. Sophomore pinch-hitter Tommy Beauregard (Salem, Mass.) made his time in the batter's box count, in his return to his hometown, with a booming two-run triple to right center field to plate the final two runs for Wheaton.

The Lyons were one out away from their first shutout of the season, but the Vikings conjured up some magic when sophomore Derek Angell (Whitinsville, Mass.) kept hope alive with a single to right field. Lynch came through with a double to right to drive in Angell with the Salem State run.

Wheaton returns to action when it hosts Amherst College on Sunday, March 26 for a 1:00 p.m. contest at Sidell Stadium, while the Vikings travel to Babson Park, Mass. on the same day to take on Babson College for a noon double-header.