NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. -- The Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team was shut out by Brandeis University, 5-0, this afternoon at the New England Baseball Complex in Northborough, Mass. 

The Lyons, who received votes in the most recent D3baseball.com national poll, fall to 1-1 on the season, while the Judges improve to 1-0 following their season opener.

Wheaton pitching combined to strike out 10 Brandeis batters, but the Judges outhit the Lyons, 8-4, including a three-run homer to provide the big blow and back an impressive combined pitching effort.

Junior designated hitter Will Haskell (Natick, Mass.) led Wheaton at the plate with two hits in three at-bats, while senior shortstop Cavan Brady (Sheffield, Mass.) was 1-3 with a double and a walk. Junior right fielder Amedeo Ucci (Warwick, R.I.) was 1-3. Sophomore right-handed starter Ryan McCarroll (Clifton Park, N.Y.) was the tough-luck losing pitcher for the Lyons, allowing just one run on two hits and a pair of walks, while striking out a career-high eight batters in five and two-thirds innings of work. 

Sophomore catcher Justin Keeler (Seymore, Conn.) cracked a three-run homer in three trips to the plate to lead the Judges' run-production, while first year designated hitter Alex Kim (Basking Ridge, N.J.) and senior right fielder Steven Simon (Hanover, Mass.) each collected a pair of hits and knocked in a run each. Graduate student southpaw Marc Maestri (Katonah, N.Y.) picked up the victory with three and a third innings of one-hit relief that saw him strike out three and issue one free pass. Starting right-handed hurler Christian Tejada (Providence, R.I.) tossed five and two-thirds innings of shutout ball pitching around four walks and three hits to go with five strikeouts.

Brandeis broke into the scoring column with two outs in the bottom of the sixth to break up a scoreless pitching duel with a pair of singles and a walk. Senior center fielder Sam Nugent (Mansfield, Mass.) worked a base on balls, followed by a single from Kim to put Nugent on second and set up an RBI single up the middle off the bat of Simon to plate Nugent with the first run of the afternoon.

The Judges carried their momentum into the seventh when Keeler hit a three-run roundtripper for his first collegiate homer, before consecutive singles from junior second baseman Mike DiCenso (Cranston, R.I.), Nugent and a run-scoring base knock from Kim to make it 5-0.

Wheaton threatened to score the game's first run in the top of the fifth when Ucci singled and junior center fielder AJ Guindon (Coventry, R.I.) reached on an error to load the bases with one out, but Brandeis cut down the run at the plate on a grounder to third and completed a double play with the throw from home to first to escape with the shutout still intact.

The Lyons return to action tomorrow when they host Nichols College at 3:00 p.m. at NEBC, while the Judges head to Beverly, Mass. on March 7 to play Endicott College at 3:30 p.m.