SAINT LEO, Fla.. – Senior center fielder AJ Guindon (Coventry, R.I.) homered and doubled to drive in three runs to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team over Webster University, 13-6, today at Thomas B. Southard Stadium on the campus of Saint Leo University in Saint Leo, Fla.
The Lyons improve to 2-3 on the season, while the Gorlocks fall to 7-5. Both teams received votes in the most recent D3baseball.com national poll this week.
Wheaton erased a 3-0 deficit and scored all 13 of its runs in the final six innings of play. The Lyons rapped out 13 hits and drew 11 walks in the game. Webster also rung up double-digits in hits with 12.
Guindon also scored two runs for Wheaton, while senior right fielder Tommy Ambrosone (Hopkinton, Mass.) was 2-5 with a double, a run scored and two runs batted in. Junior designated hitter Kevin Matos (Lawrence, Mass.) drove in a pair of runs and was 1-3 with two runs scored, a triple and a walk, while junior second baseman Tommy Beauregard (Salem, Mass.) reached base five times with four walks and a single and also scored twice to go with an RBI. First year relief pitcher Chris Carbonara (Brockton, Mass.) picked up his first collegiate victory to improve to 1-0 after giving up a run on two hits and three walks to go with a big strikeout in an inning and two-thirds of work. Junior right-handed reliever Jackson Walsh (Cumberland, R.I.) neutralized Webster with four innings of three-hit shutout relief to register a hold for the Lyons.
Senior first baseman Nathaniel Martinez (Orlando, Fla.) led the Gorlocks' lineup, going 3-5 with a home run, two runs batted in and a pair of runs scored. First year center fielder James Theodore (San Marcos, Calif.) was 3-4 with a run scored and first year right fielder Parker Murrow (Morrison, Colo.) knocked in a run and was 2-4 at the plate. First year Wes Cunningham (Grapevine, Texas) took the loss to fall to 0-2 on the year after giving up four runs on four hits.
Wheaton scored twice in the top of the fourth and sent 11 batters to the plate in the fifth with five of them scoring to take a 7-3 lead.
Senior shortstop Mike Maher (Jefferson, Mass.) served a one-out single to center field and raced around the bases ahead of a Matos triple to put the Lyons on the board at 3-1. Matos scored on a wild pitch to cut the deficit to 3-2. Beauregard drew a leadoff walk in the fifth and Guindon pushed him into scoring position with a double. Ambrosone came through with a double down the right field line to plate both runners and give Wheaton the lead for good at 4-3. Maher followed with a single to left center to put runners on the corners, before Matos hit a fly ball to left to bring home Ambrosone with the fifth run. Junior first baseman Timmy Wagner (Hingham, Mass.) ripped a double down the left field line to drive in Maher to make it 6-3. First year left fielder Shawn Cali (East Taunton, Mass.) worked a walk and first year catcher Tyler Bellan (Franklin, Mass.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases to set up an RBI fielder's choice from first year pinch-hitter Casey Wensley (Raynham, Mass.) to give the Lyons a four-run margin.
Webster got three runs back in the bottom of the inning to pull within 7-6, but they were the last runs of the game for the Gorlocks. Webster's first three batters all reached to load the bases with no outs. Junior second baseman Evan Evola (Ottawa, Ill.) and Martinez opened the inning with back-to-back singles before junior designated hitter Nick Schumacher (Arvada, Colo.) drew a walk to push the sacks full. Graduate student catcher Zach Goodman (Greenwood, Village, Colo.) was the fourth straight Gorlock to reach with an RBI single to left to make it 7-4. Murrow and first year third baseman Andrew Fazio (Minneapolis, Minn.) each knocked in a run with consecutive fielder's choices to complete the scoring and make it a one-run game for Webster.
Wheaton tacked on two more runs in the seventh to increase its lead to 9-6 after its first three hitters all found success at the plate. Bellan opened the frame with an infield single, before Wensley doubled to right to set up an RBI single to left off the bat of Beauregard. Ambrosone later walked to load the bases with one out to set up a sacrifice fly from Maher to deliver the ninth Lyon run.
Wheaton took advantage of a Gorlock error that would have ended the eighth to score three insurance runs to take a 12-6 cushion. Wensley reached on an error and Beauregard walked before Guindon crushed a pitch over the left field fence for his second long ball of the season. The Lyons added one more run in the ninth after Matos was plunked by a pitch to lead off the inning and later scored on Wheaton's third sacrifice fly of the day – this time from Cali to plate a season-high 13th run for the Lyons.
The Gorlocks broke into the scoring column first with three runs in the third. Junior shortstop Karl Peters (Littleton, Colo.) doubled down the left field line, stole third and scored on an errant throw to third on the steal to open the scoring. Theodore followed with a single to left and scored ahead of the second homer of the season for Martinez over the left field fence.
Wheaton returns to the diamond tomorrow when it plays Illinois Wesleyan University at Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale, Fla. at 1:15 p.m., while Webster takes on Johns Hopkins University at 3:00 p.m. on the same day in Auburndale.
