NEW LONDON, Conn. — Junior designated hitter Kevin Matos (Lawrence, Mass.) (three) and first year third baseman Casey Wensley (Raynham, Mass.) (two) combined to knock in five runs to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team over host United States Coast Guard Academy, 10-5, this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Nitchman Field in New London, Conn.
The Lyons win their third straight game and 11 of their last 14 to improve to 12-6 overall and 6-1 in NEWMAC play, while the Bears fall to 12-7 and 3-2.
Every hitter in the Wheaton lineup collected at least one hit as the visitors out-hit Coast Guard, 12-8, for their ninth contest with 10 or more hits. The Lyons scored the first seven runs of the game, before the Bears matched their four-run outburst in the fourth with four runs of their own in the bottom of the frame. Coast Guard tacked on another run in the fifth to make it a two-run game at 7-5 after five innings. Wheaton added a run in the eighth and two more insurance runs in the ninth to secure the win.
Matos also scored a run in the game, while Wensley was 2-4 with a run scored for the Lyons. Senior right fielder Tommy Ambrosone (Hopkinton, Mass.) reached base three times with a pair of walks and a single in addition to knocking in a run and scoring twice. Senior center fielder AJ Guindon (Coventry, R.I.) was 2-4 with two walks and two runs scored from the top of the order for Wheaton. Junior right-handed reliever Jackson Walsh (Cumberland, R.I.) earned the win to improve to 2-0 on the season with three and a third innings of two-hit shutout relief that saw him strike out a batter. Junior righty Joe Mulhern (Taunton, Mass.) closed out the game with the final four outs to earn his four saves and combine on four and two-thirds of scoreless, two-hit relief from the Lyon bullpen.
Junior second baseman Wyatt Duthu (Madison, Ala.) led the Bears with a three-run double in five at-bats, while sophomore shortstop Richard Barkley (Bellevue, Wash.) was 2-3 with a double and a run scored. Senior John designated hitter John Tacchini (Klamath Falls, Ore.) and sophomore left fielder Kael Godshalk (Bangor, Pa.) each drove in a run for Coast Guard. First year starting pitcher Sean Harmon (Bethesda, Md.) was saddled with the loss to fall to 2-2 after giving up four runs on six hits and three walks to go with a strikeout in three innings.
Wheaton took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning after its top three batters opened the game with consecutive singles to load the bases. Guindon, Ambrosone and senior shortstop Mike Maher (Jefferson, Mass.) all collected singles, before Matos hit a sacrifice fly to right field to plate Guindon with the day's first run. Wensley later came through with a two-out, two-run single to center field to give the Lyons a three-run margin.
Wheaton added four runs in the fourth with four hits to extend its lead to 7-0. The Lyons loaded the bases with no outs again after first year catcher Tyler Bellan (Franklin, Mass.) and junior second baseman Tommy Beauregard (Salem, Mass.) both served singles to left field, before Guindon drew a walk. Ambrosone also received a free pass to force home Bellan to make it 4-0. The Bears got a grounder to third that resulted in a 5-2-3 double play to cut down another run, but Matos delivered with a two-out, two-run single to center to plate Guindon and Ambrosone. Junior Timmy Wagner (Hingham, Mass.) followed with an RBI single to center to give the Lyons a 7-0 cushion.
Coast Guard got all four runs back in the bottom of the inning to cut the deficit to 7-4. Barkley doubled to the left-center gap and Tacchini reached on an infield single to set up Godshalk for a two-out, run-scoring single to left for the Bears first run of the afternoon. Sophomore third baseman Luke Percifield (Pinellas City, Fla.) reached on an infield single to load the bases with two outs and Duthu followed with a clutch double to right center to clear the bases and pull Coast Guard within three runs.
The Bears made it a two-run game with a run in the fifth. Junior catcher Parker Madden (Ruston, La.) smacked a double to left center and Barkley put runners on the corners with one out after reaching on an infield hit. Tacchini drove a sacrifice fly to center to score Madden with the last run of the day for Coast Guard to make it 7-5.
Wheaton manufactured a run in the eighth to increase its margin to three runs. Beauregard opened the frame with a single to left center field, stole second base, moved to third on a fly out to left and scored on a fielder's choice.
The Lyons took advantage of an error and three wild pitches to add two additional runs in the top of the ninth.
Wheaton returns to the diamond on Thursday, April 11 when it heads to Amherst, Mass. to take on Amherst College for a 4:00 p.m. first pitch, while Coast Guard hosts Worcester State University tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.
