SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – First year catcher Nick Giangregorio (Belmont, Mass.) hit the first two collegiate home runs of his career and knocked in three runs to power the No. 16/18 Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team past host Western New England University, 7-6, this afternoon at Trelease Park in Springfield, Mass.

The Lyons, who are ranked 16th in the most recent Collegiate Baseball American Baseball Coaches Association national poll and 18th by D3baseball.com, have won eight straight, 12 of its last 13 and 22 of their last 24 to improve to 24-4 on the season, while the Golden Bears fall to 17-7-2.

Wheaton never trailed in the game and scored in four straight frames with two runs each in the third and fourth innings, before tacking on single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to take a 6-1 advantage. Western New England scored four times in the bottom of the sixth to make it a one-run game. The Lyons added an important insurance run in the eighth, before the Golden Bears matched it in the bottom of the inning to keep the difference the same.

Giangregorio scored three times and was 3-4 in the game for Wheaton, while sophomore left fielder Kevin Matos (Lawrence, Mass.) was 2-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Senior second baseman Mike Maher (Jefferson, Mass.) also drove in a run and registered a pair of hits to go with a walk in five plate appearances. First year starting pitcher Benjamin Oliveira (Somerset, Mass.) picked up his second win of the week to improve to 3-0 on the season after allowing one run on three hits and four walks in five innings of work and junior southpaw reliever Matthew Pizzelli (Weymouth, Mass.) earned his first career save following an inning and a third of scoreless ball that saw him surrender just one hit.

Senior right fielder Jake Gerraughty (Mansfield, Mass.) reached base all four times with a 3-3 effort and a walk to go with a run batted in and two runs scored. Senior second baseman Paul Villecco (Cheshire, Conn.) was 2-5 with a double and a run batted in from the top of the lineup for WNEU. Sophomore starting right-handed pitcher Jacob Hobart (Hudson, N.H.) suffered the loss to drop to 3-2 after allowing four runs on six hits and a walk in addition to fanning two batters in four innings of work.

The Lyons scored twice in the top of the third inning to take a 2-0 lead. Wheaton put together three straight singles from first year right fielder Marcus Ollivierre (Milton, Mass.), junior center fielder AJ Guindon (Coventry, R.I.) and Maher with one out in the inning. Maher's knock was the run-producer, punching a pitch to left field to plate the first Wheaton run of the day. Senior shortstop Cavan Brady (Sheffield, Mass.) ripped a single to right field to drive in the second run for the Lyons.

Wheaton doubled its lead in the top of the fourth, thanks to Giangregorio's first career blast. Matos singled up the middle to open the inning, before Giangegorio gave the Lyons a 4-0 margin with a homer over the left field fence. 

Western New England showed good patience in the bottom of the inning with senior left fielder Sean Jamieson (New Fairfield, Conn.) and sophomore Jack Loftus (Hanover, N.H.) drawing one-out walks. Gerraughty delivered a single to center field to bring home Jamieson and cut the deficit to 4-1.

Wheaton was clutch with two outs in the fifth thanks to timely hitting. Senior third baseman Nick Croteau (Cumberland, R.I.) served a single to right field and later scored on a single to left field from Matos to increase the Lyon lead to 5-1. Wheaton added another run in the sixth to take a 6-1 advantage. Giangregorio showed that his first display of power wasn't a fluke when he crushed a pitch over everything in left field for his second long ball of the day and a 6-1 margin. 

The first three batters for the Golden Bears all reached to open the bottom of the sixth to load the bases, including singles from Waterbury and Jamieson. Junior third baseman Cody Waterbury (Danbury, Conn.) scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-2 and open a base for the Golden Bears. Gerraughty drew a walk to re-load bases, before junior center fielder Aaron Cole (Forestdale, Mass.) was issued a free pass to force in a run. Sophomore shortstop  John Bova (Trumbull, Conn.) lifted a sacrifice fly to right field as Gerraughty scampered home on the sacrifice fly to pull Western New England to within 6-4. Villeco made it a one-run game with a single to center to bring home Western New England's fifth run of the day.

The Lyons added an insurance run in the eighth to give them a 7-5 margin. Giangregorio picked up his third hit of the day with an infield single to open the inning. Ollivierre and Maher were each issued a base on balls to load the bases again. Giangregio later scored on a wild pitch for the final run of the day for Wheaton.

Gerraughty smacked a leadoff single in the bottom of the eighth for WNEU, before junior catcher Kohtaro Shimada (Woburn, Mass.) also ripped a single to set up a sacrifice bunt to put both runners in scoring position with one out and a two-run deficit. Bova grounded out, but Gerraughty scored to make it a 7-6 game and conclude the scoring.

Wheaton returns to play on Tuesday, April 18 when it hosts New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference foe United States Coast Guard Academy at 3:30 p.m., while the Golden Bears take on host Rhode Island College in Providence, R.I. on April 20 at 3:30 p.m.