NORTON, Mass. – Senior third baseman Nick Croteau (Cumberland, R.I.) drove in a pair of runs with a double, including the go-ahead run in the 15th inning, while the No. 21 Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team's bullpen combined to throw eight innings of two-hit shutout ball to lead the Lyons to a 5-2 victory over Worcester Polytechnic Institute this afternoon to complete a doubleheader sweep in the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference opener today at Sidell Stadium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass. WPI served as the home team in the game due to it being rescheduled and moved as a result of rain from the day before.

The Lyons, who are ranked in the most recent D3baseball.com national poll, have won 13 of their last 14 games and improve to 15-3 on the season and 2-0 in league play, while the Engineers fall to 10-9 and 0-2.

The 15-inning affair was the longest game played by Wheaton since it took a 7-6 decision in 16 innings from Curry College on May 16, 2007 in the first game of the NCAA Regional Tournament in Harwich, Mass. Lyons' pitching combined to strike out 21 batters in the game to set a school record and eclipse the old mark of 19 set in the same game against Curry on May 16, 2007. Wheaton recorded 54 at-bats for the seventh-highest total in a game in school history.

For the day, Lyons pitching combined to strike out 30 WPI batters in 22 innings, while issuing just one walk. Croteau finished the day going 2-6, including his 100th and 101st career knocks and drove in a pair of runs to go with a run scored and a walk. Senior right-handed reliever Max Pierce (Scituate, R.I.) turned in a tremendous performance out of the pen, hurling four hitless innings, while fanning six batters to earn the win, before sophomore reliever Jackson Walsh (Cumberland, R.I.) shut the door with a scoreless inning of relief that included a strikeout for his first save of the season. Right-handed starting pitcher Zach Clesas (Johnston, R.I.) allowed just two runs on eight hits and struck out a career-high eight batters in seven strong innings of work. Five Wheaton relievers pieced together the final eight innings, including the eighth that saw senior righty Zach Nichols (Chicopee, Mass.) strike out the side and issue the day's only base on balls for the Lyons. Senior shortstop Cavan Brady (Sheffield, Mass.) was 2-6 with a run batted in and a run scored and sophomore left fielder Kevin Matos (Lawrence, Mass.) smacked a double and knocked in a run. Senior second baseman Mike Maher (Jefferson, Mass.) reached base three times with a walk and two singles, including his 100th career hit to become the third Wheaton player to reach 100 in a span of four days.

Senior third baseman Jeffrey Brennan (Amsterdam, N.Y.) led WPI, going 2-6 with an RBI and a run scored, while senior first baseman Kyle Johns (Milltown, N.J.) doubled and drove in a run. First year center fielder Jack Zawacki (Pittsford, N.Y.) and first year catcher Jonathan Lattimer (Windsor, Conn.) each collected two singles for the Engineers. Senior right-handed starting pitcher Everett Wonson (Wenham, Mass.) gave up just two runs on five hits and no walks to go with three strikeouts in seven innings. Right-handed reliever Owen Radcliffe (Holliston, Mass.) threw zeros for six and two-thirds innings before finally running out of gas and giving up three runs in the 15th frame. He finished with seven and a third innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk, while fanning seven batters. 

The Lyons finally broke through with two outs in the top of the 15th inning for three runs for the game's first runs since the sixth to take a 5-2 lead for the eventual winning margin. First year right fielder Marcus Ollivierre (Milton, Mass.), who had come into the game as a defensive replacement, drew a walk, before Guindon singled through the left side. Croteau later came up with two outs and lifted a double down the right field line over the WPI right fielder as Ollivierre and junior center fielder AJ Guindon (Coventry, R.I.) raced around the bases to give Wheaton a 4-2 margin. Brady followed with a single to center to pad the Lyons' lead. Walsh relieved Pierce for Wheaton and struck out the first batter he faced in the bottom of the inning, before giving up a single to Lattimer. Junior second baseman Nicholas Battaglin (Marlboro, Mass.) grounded to short, where Brady stepped on second and threw to first, but Battaglin initially beat the throw before straying off first base, where he was retired on a throw from first to second to end the marathon game. 

The Engineers got on the board with a run in the bottom of the first after Brennan reached on an infield single to short and came around to score ahead of a Johns' double to right center for a 1-0 edge.

The Lyons got the run back and added another in the fourth inning to take a 2-1 lead. Brady singled to center field and Wirtanen reached on an infield single before Matos cracked a double to left center to plate Brady with the tying run. Wirtanen later scored on a wild pitch with the go-ahead run.

WPI pulled even with a run in the sixth to make it 2-2. Junior shortstop Jacob Hand (Niskayuna, N.Y.) clubbed a double to right field and later scored on a single to center off the bat of Brennan to knot the contest. 

Wheaton returns to action on Tuesday, April 4 when it heads to Worcester, Mass. to take on NEWMAC foe Clark University at 3:30 p.m., while the Engineers travel to Northborough, Mass. to play Emerson College for a 3:30 first pitch on the same day.