DANVERS, Mass. — Sophomore left fielder Kevin Matos (Lawrence, Mass.) homered twice and knocked in three runs to lead the No. 15 Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team to an 11-3 victory over host Emerson College this afternoon in the first game of a three-game New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference series at Saint John's Prep's baseball field in Danvers, Mass.

The Lyons, who are ranked in the most recent Collegiate Baseball/American Baseball Coaches Association and D3baseball.com national polls, improve to 25-5 on the season and 10-1 in NEWMAC play, while the Lions fall to 15-17 and 3-8.

Matos becomes the first player in school history to homer in a game twice on three occasions with all three outings coming this season. The left-handed bomber hit a pair of long balls on March 17 vs. Ithaca College and on April 2 vs. Worcester Polytechnic Institute. 

Wheaton scored single runs in the second, fourth and fifth innings, before putting some separation between itself and Emerson with a four-run sixth to take a 7-0 advantage. The Lyons also scored single runs in the seventh and eighth and two more in the ninth to cross the plate in seven of nine innings on the day.

Matos was perfect at the plate, going 3-3 with a walk and three runs batted in to go with three runs scored for Wheaton, while sophomore first baseman Anthony Teberio (Andover, Mass.) knocked in two runs after going 3-5 with a pair of doubles and scored two runs. Junior center fielder AJ Guindon (Coventry, R.I.) was 2-4 with a triple, two RBI and a run scored and first year Nick Giangregorio (Belmont, Mass.) belted a three-run home run. Sophomore right-handed starter Ryan McCarroll (Clifton Park, N.Y.) earned the win to improve to 6-1 on the season after giving up just one run on three hits and three walks in addition to striking out four batters for the Lyons. 

Junior right fielder Blake Benway (Fairfield, Conn.) paced the Lions at the plate, going 2-4 with a run batted in, while sophomore second baseman Briggs Loveland (Burleson, Texas) smacked a double and knocked in a run. Junior starting hurler Chris Lowe (Chatham, N.J.) was saddled with the loss to drop to 2-4 after yielding seven runs on eight hits and two walks to go with seven strikeouts

Matos put Wheaton on the board with a one-out solo homer in the second for a 1-0 edge.

Matos came through again in the fourth to increase the Lyons' margin to 2-0. Senior shortstop Cavan Brady (Sheffield, Mass.) ripped a single to right field for one of three hits on the day, before stealing second base. Matos followed with a run-scoring single to right field to plate the visitors' second run.

Wheaton tacked on another run in the fifth to make it 3-0. Junior right fielder Tommy Ambrosone (Hopkinton, Mass.) laced a double down the right field line and came around to score after Guindon followed with an RBI single.

The Lyons broke the game open with four runs in the sixth to take a 7-0 cushion. Matos came up with two outs and launched his second round tripper of the afternoon and 10th of the season to give Wheaton a 4-0 lead. His home run total is tied for sixth-most in school history for a single season. Senior catcher Robert Wirtanen (Brentwood, N.H.) drew a walk and Teberio singled to center to set up Giangregorio for a three-run blast over the left field fence for his third homer of the year and a 7-0 lead.

Guindon opened the seventh with a triple to the left-center gap and scored on a sacrifice fly to center field off the bat of senior second baseman Mike Maher (Jefferson, Mass.) to up the Wheaton total to eight runs.

Emerson got on the board with their first run in the bottom of the inning to cut the deficit to 8-1. Graduate student left fielder Quinton Copeland (Houston, Texas) laced a leadoff single to left center field and later scored on a two-out single to right field from Benway.

The Lyons continued their offensive effort with another run in the eighth to take a 9-1 margin. Teberio cracked a double to open the frame and later advanced to third on a passed ball and scampered home when Guindon lifted a sacrifice fly to right field.

The Lions scored multiple runs in the bottom of the frame to close to within 9-3. Copeland was hit by a pitch before Loveland came through with a two-out double to left center field to bring Copeland all the way around to score from first. Senior catcher Matt Nachamie (Merrick, N.Y.) later singled to left to plate Loveland with the third Emerson run.

Wheaton added two more runs in the ninth to give them six consecutive frames with a run scored. Brady ripped a single to right field and Matos was hit by a pitch, before Teberio knocked in both runners with a two-out double to left center to give the Lyons an 11-3 lead.

Wheaton returns to action tomorrow when they host the Lions at Sidell Stadium for a twinbill at noon to conclude the three-game set.