NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team was defeated by visiting Tufts University, 9-2, this afternoon at Sidell Stadium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons dip to 15-10 on the season, while the Jumbos have won four in a row and improve to 17-14.
Tufts rapped out 12 hits and drew 10 walks to go with seven stolen bases in the game. The Jumbos scored two runs in each of the first two frames to take a 4-0 lead, before Wheaton got on the board with a run in the bottom of the third to make it a three-run game. Tufts got a run back in the sixth, but the Lyons scored a marker in the seventh to make it 5-2. The Jumbos effectively put the game away with four runs in the eighth to take a seven-run advantage.
Junior first baseman Timmy Wagner (Hingham, Mass.) paced Wheaton at the plate, going 2-4 with a double and a run scored, while first year third baseman Casey Wensley (Raynham, Mass.) was 2-4 as well. Junior southpaw Josh Fischer (Hopkinton, Mass.) was saddled with the loss and drops to 0-3 after yielding four runs on five hits and five walks to go with a pair of strikeouts in five innings of work.
First year right fielder Malachi Pena (Albuquerque, N.M.) recorded the first four-hit game of his career and knocked in a pair of runs to lead Tufts. He also scored a run in the game, while sophomore second baseman Jesse McCullough (Sudbury, Mass.) was 2-4 with an RBI and two stolen bases and senior first baseman Connor Flavin (North Easton, Mass.) was 2-4 with a double, a pair of runs scored and a stolen base. First year right-handed starter Grant Strother (Salem, Ore.) picked up his first collegiate victory to improve to 1-0 after hurling two scoreless innings, allowing two hits to go with a strikeout in a predetermined staff effort for the Jumbos. Senior righty reliever Hunter Beindorff (Lone Tree, Colo.) was also effective with two innings of no-hit relief, including a strikeout.
Senior third baseman Patrick Solomon (Northborough, Mass.) was the consummate lead-off man for Tufts and began the game by drawing a walk, followed by a single through the right side from junior center fielder Henry Fleckner (Weston, Mass.) to put runners on the corners with no outs. Solomon scored on the front end of a double steal, while Fleckner took second base. Pena later singled to plate Fleckner to give the visitors a 2-0 margin.
The Jumbos doubled their lead, manufacturing two more runs without the benefit of a hit to take a 4-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Flavin worked a lead-off walk, stole second, went to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a wild pitch. Solomon drew his second walk in as many innings and proceeded to steal second and third base to give him three thefts in two frames. He scored on a Fleckner ground out to second to give Tufts its fourth run.
The Lyons broke into the scoring column with a run in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit to 4-1. Sophomore catcher Collin Reilly (Marshfield, Mass.) hit a booming double to center field to open the frame, before senior center fielder AJ Guindon (Coventry, R.I.) beat out an infield single to shortstop to put runners on the corners with one out. Senior right fielder Tommy Ambrosone (Hopkinton, Mass.) reached on a fielder's choice to drive in Reilly with the first Wheaton run.
The Jumbos got the run back in the sixth to restore the four-run margin. First year catcher Pierson Cooper (Bethesda, Md.) was issued the third lead-off base on balls for the game for Tufts and moved to third following a double to left center from Flavin. Solomon lifted a sacrifice fly to right to bring home Cooper with the fifth run of the day for the Jumbos.
The Lyons loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh, looking to cut into Tufts' lead, but were held to just a run to pull within 5-2. Wagner doubled to the right-center gap, junior designated hitter Kevin Matos (Lawrence, Mass.) was hit by a pitch and Wensley served a single to left field to push the sacks full. First year left fielder Shawn Cali (East Taunton, Mass.) hit a fly ball to right field that was caught in foul territory, but the throw was offline and Wagner scored on the sacrifice fly to make it a three-run deficit.
Nine batters came to the plate in the eighth for the Jumbos and four scored in a five-hit inning to give them a 9-2 cushion. First year pinch-hitter Max Pavlik (Clarendon Hills, Ill.), Pena, McCullough and senior pinch-hitter John Fritz (Andover, Mass.) strung consecutive run-producing singles together to produce the four runs to give Tufts its winning margin.
The Jumbos return to the diamond on Saturday, April 27 when they host Clark University in a noon doubleheader, while Wheaton heads to Cambridge, Mass. on the same day to take on Massachusetts Institute of Technology in a 12:00 p.m. New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference twinbill.
