NORTON, Mass. — Junior designated hitter Kevin Matos (Lawrence, Mass.) homered and doubled three times to drive in seven runs and lead the fourth-seeded Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team to a 23-4 victory over visiting number five seed Worcester Polytechnic Institute this afternoon in the first round of the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference Tournament at Sidell Stadium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons win their fifth straight game to improve to 22-12 on the season, while the Engineers conclude their campaign, following the elimination game, with a 20-17-1 mark.
Wheaton's run total and margin of victory tie the school record in both categories for a playoff effort, matching a 23-4 triumph over United States Coast Guard Academy in the NEWMAC Championship Game on April 25, 2010. The Lyons' margin of victory is their highest in any games since they defeated Emerson College, 22-2, April 23, 2022 and the run tally is their highest since a 25-5 win over Emerson on March 20, 2021.
Matos' seven runs batted in matches a career high and is the third-highest mark in a game in school history, while standing as the most RBI in a postseason contest in program annals. He also racked up 10 total bases for the seventh-highest single-game mark in school history.
Wheaton rung up a season-high 20 hits and scored three or more runs in five different innings, including a season-high of nine in the fifth to put the game totally out of reach at 20-2. The Lyons tacked on three more runs in the sixth to take a 23-3 advantage, before WPI scored the final run of the game in the top of the ninth. The Blue and White boasted seven different hitters with multiple hits in the game.
Matos reached base in all five plate appearances, including a walk, and scored a career-high four times for Wheaton. Junior second baseman Tommy Beauregard (Salem, Mass.) drove in a career-best four runs and was 2-3 with a run scored to go with a stolen base, while senior right fielder Tommy Ambrosone (Hopkinton, Mass.) recorded the first four-hit effort of his career, going 4-6 with a double, two RBI and three runs scored. First year catcher Tyler Bellan (Franklin, Mass.) chipped in with a 3-5 day, including a double, two runs batted in and three runs scored. Junior starting pitcher Ryan McCarroll (Clifton Park, N.Y.) picked up the win to improve to 7-2 after giving up two runs on eight hits in addition to fanning six batters in five innings.
Overshadowed by the Lyons' offensive explosion was a 5-5 output from junior left fielder Tommy Burns (Morris Plains, N.J.) to lead the Engineers. He also homered, doubled and knocked in a pair of runs to pace a 15-hit attack by the visitors. Sophomore first baseman Jonathan Lattimer (Windsor, Conn.) was 3-5 and senior center fielder DJ Brooks (Danvers, Mass.) was 2-3 with a run scored in his final collegiate game. Senior right-handed starter Owen Radcliffe (Holliston, Mass.) allowed 11 runs on 13 hits and struck out two in four innings to suffer the loss and drop to 6-4.
Matos and the Lyons' offense got to work right away with three two-out runs in the bottom of the first inning. Matos was the catalyst with a two-run double, before first year left fielder Shawn Cali (East Taunton, Mass.) served an RBI single to center to give the home team a 3-0 lead.
WPI cut the deficit to 3-2 with a pair of runs in the top of the third inning. Brooks and senior shortstop Jacob Hand (Niskayuna, N.Y.) opened the frame with back-to-back singles, before Burns delivered a two-out, two-run long ball later in the inning.
Wheaton countered with consecutive four-run innings in the third and fourth to take a commanding 11-2 lead. Matos, Cali and Ambrosone all came through with run-scoring doubles in succession, before Beauregard knocked in his first run with a sacrifice fly to increase the Lyons' lead to 7-2 after three innings.
Junior first baseman Timmy Wagner (Hingham, Mass.) smacked one of eight doubles in the game for Wheaton and trotted home ahead of Matos' third round-tripper of the season. Bellan drove in the Lyons' 10th run with a double to the left-center gap and Beauregard ripped an RBI single to left field to give Wheaton a nine-run margin.
Wheaton sent 15 batters to the plate in the nine-run fifth. Senior shortstop Mike Maher (Jefferson, Mass.) singled and doubled and knocked in two runs in the frame, while Beauregard smacked a two-run single and Matos registered an RBI double and a walk. Ambrosone and Bellan added to the uprising with run-scoring singles. The Lyons held a 20-2 cushion when it was all set and done with four innings left to play.
The Engineers got a run back in the top of the sixth to make it 20-3. First year catcher Spencer Merrick (Abington, Mass.) drew a walk and later scored on a two-out single to center field off the bat of sophomore second baseman Liam Keblin (Newton, Mass.).
Wheaton completed its scoring with three runs in the bottom of the inning. The first three batters all reached without putting the ball in play. Bellan and sophomore pinch-hitter Marcus Rodrigues (Lincoln, R.I.) were each issued a free pass, before first year pinch-hitter Robbie Lamond (North Kingstown, R.I.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. First year third baseman Casey Wensley (Raynham, Mass.) lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, before the Lyons scored on a wild pitch and a ground out to take an unthinkable 20-run lead.
WPI closed the book on the day's outpouring of runs with its final tally of the day. Burns laced a single through the left side for his fifth knock of the game, before senior pinch-hitter Adam Tedesco (Middlebury, Conn.) and Merrick each singled to load the bases with one out. Burns scampered home on a sacrifice fly to left off the bat of senior Jake DelMonte (Southington, Conn.) for the final run of the day.
