NORTON, Mass. – First year third baseman Casey Wensley (Raynham, Mass.) recorded his first career four-hit game and drove in four runs to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team to a 12-7 victory over visiting University of Massachusetts Dartmouth this afternoon at Sidell Stadium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 19-12 on the season, while the Corsairs drop to 20-16-1.
Both teams combined for 33 hits in the game, including a season-high of 18 for Wheaton.
The Lyons scored in all but two innings they came up to bat and all nine hitters registered at least one hit, including five players with multi-hit outings.
Wheaton took a 2-0 lead after the first inning, before UMass Dartmouth cut the margin in half with a run in the top of the second. The Lyons answered with three runs in the bottom of the frame to increase their advantage to 5-1. The Corsairs made it a two-run game with a pair of runs in the fourth, before Wheaton tallied four unanswered runs to take a 9-3 lead into the top of the eighth. UMass Dartmouth rallied for four runs in the frame to pull within 9-7, but the Lyons got three runs back in the bottom of the inning and shut the door in the ninth to get the win.
Wensley cracked a pair of doubles as well for Wheaton. Senior center fielder AJ Guindon (Coventry, R.I.) was 3-4 with a triple, a walk, a stolen base, two runs batted in and three runs scored from the top of the lineup, while junior first baseman Timmy Wagner (Hingham, Mass.) was 3-6 with a double, two RBI and a run scored. Junior designated hitter Kevin Matos (Lawrence, Mass.) was 2-4 with a walk, a double, a stolen base and an RBI. Junior starting pitcher Ryan McCarroll (Clifton Park, N.Y.) earned the victory and improved to 6-2 after giving up just one run on five hits and no walks to go with five strikeouts in three innings of work in a game where he was deemed to throw less than five innings. Junior right-handed reliever Joe Mulhern (Taunton, Mass.) picked up his sixth save of the season after tossing one and two-thirds innings of one hit ball, including a strikeout to end the game.
Senior catcher Matt Tempone (Smithtown, N.Y.) led the Corsairs, going 3-4 with a home run and four RBI to go with a run scored, while graduate student Joe Muzio (Rockport, Mass.) was 4-5 with a double and a run scored. Senior shortstop Andrew Possi (Milton, Mass.) was 3-4 with a double and three runs scored. Sophomore starting pitcher AJ Rourke (Medford, Mass.) suffered the loss to drop to 1-4 after yielding five runs on nine hits and a walk to go with a strikeout in three innings.
The Lyons were quick to score a pair of runs with two outs in the bottom of the first to take a lead they would never relinquish. Senior shortstop Mike Maher (Jefferson, Mass.) singled to right, before Wagner lifted a double to right center field to bring Maher around to score. Matos followed with a single up the middle to score Wagner and, just like that, Wheaton had a 2-0 lead.
UMass Dartmouth also needed to put together back-to-back hits in the second to get on the board and make it a one-run game. Possi belted a double to the left-center gap and Tempone laced a single up the middle to plate Possi with the visitors' first run of the day.
The Lyons scored three times in the bottom of the inning to take a 5-1 lead. First year catcher Tyler Bellan (Franklin, Mass.) ripped a double down the left field line, before Guindon hit an RBI single up the middle to restore the two-run margin for the home team. Wensley pulled a run-scoring double to right field for the first of three straight Wheaton knocks, followed by a single to left off the bat of Maher to plate Wensley with the Lyons' fifth run.
The Corsairs loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth, before putting two runs on the board to cut the deficit to 5-3. Senior designated hitter Jared Neikam (Bedford, N.H.) smacked a double that hopped the center field fence, followed by an infield single from Possi and a single through the right side from Tempone to fill the bases for UMass Dartmouth. Graduate student right fielder Anthony Keefe (Plymouth, Mass.) knocked in Neikam with a sacrifice fly and the visitors added a second run on an error later in the inning.
Wheaton added a run to its lead to go up 6-3 after four innings. Guindon clubbed a hustle triple to left center field to set up an RBI single from Wensley. The Lyons tacked on two more runs in the fifth to take an 8-3 lead. First year left fielder Shawn Cali (East Taunton, Mass.) ripped a lead-off single up the middle, stole second and later scored from third on a sacrifice fly from Bellan. Wheaton put together three straight singles with two outs to add its second run of the frame. Junior second baseman Tommy Beauregard (Salem, Mass.) and Guindon each singled through the left side, before Wensley served a run-producing single to center to plate Beauregard with the eighth run. The Lyons completed a string of four unanswered runs after Guindon and Maher drew walks in the seventh and Wagner delivered a two-out single up the middle to knock in Guindon to make it 9-3.
Wheaton entered the top of the eighth with what seemed like a comfortable five-run cushion, but the Corsairs scored four times to pull within two runs. UMass Dartmouth's first run of the frame came on a ground out, but it was Tempone who came through after Muzio and Possi each singled. The senior blasted his third homer of the season over the left field fence to cut the margin to 9-7.
The Lyons' first three batters all reached to open the bottom of the eighth and load the bases. Ambrosone and Bellan were each issued free passes, before Beauregard was hit by a pitch. Ambrosone scampered home on a wild pitch and Guindon followed with a sacrifice fly to push Wheaton's margin to 11-7. Wensley capped his career day with his second double to bring home Beauregard with the final run of the game.
The Lyons return to the diamond on Saturday, May 4 when they head to Dudley, Mass. to take on Nichols College at 3:30 p.m., while the Corsairs finish their regular season with a home doubleheader vs. Eastern Connecticut State University on May 3 at 12:00 p.m.
