NORTON, Mass. — Senior first baseman Timmy Wagner (Hingham, Mass.) had three hits and knocked in three runs and senior left fielder Kevin Matos (Lawrence, Mass.) drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth to give the Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team a 10-9 victory over visiting Worcester Polytechnic Institute this afternoon in the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference opener at Sidell Stadium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons have won four of their last five to improve to 8-7 on the season, including 1-0 in league play, while the Engineers fall to 7-8 and 0-1.
There were five lead changes in the game with Wheaton holding the largest lead of 8-5 after the fourth inning. The Lyons scored three times in the bottom of the first to take a 3-0 lead. WPI scored five runs in the top of the second, before Wheaton got two runs back in the bottom of the frame to knot the contest at 5-5. The Engineers erased their three-run deficit after four innings with a four-run fifth to take a 9-8 edge, before single runs in the seventh and eighth innings gave the Lyons the lead for good.
Wagner doubled, walked and scored a run as well for Wheaton. Sophomore designated hitter Nick Ayres (Duxbury, Mass.) was 2-4 with a double and two runs batted in, while sophomore catcher Tyler Bellan (Franklin, Mass.) was 2-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Matos was 1-4 in the game and senior second baseman Tommy Beauregard (Salem, Mass.) drove in a pair of runs and stole a base for the Lyons. The Wheaton bullpen combined to throw five shutout innings to close out the game, including junior lefty Evan Mello (New Bedford, Mass.), who did not allow a hit in an inning and two-thirds, while striking out three and walking one to earn the win to improve to 1-0. Senior southpaw Josh Fischer (Hopkinton, Mass.) nailed down the win with his third save of the year after striking out one in a hit-less ninth inning.
Junior left fielder Jack Zawacki (Pittsford, N.Y.) led WPI at the plate, going 2-4 with a double, three RBI, a walk, a stolen base and a run scored, while junior third baseman Zachary Roethlein (Pomfret Center, Conn.) knocked in two runs with a double and scored twice. First year shortstop Chuck Cappello (Southboro, Mass.) was 1-2 with a walk and a run batted in. First year reliever D.C. Brown (Plymouth, Mass.) was saddled with the loss to drop to 1-2 after surrendering a run on two hits in the eighth inning.
The Lyons scored the eventual winning run in the eighth after sophomore third baseman Casey Wensley (Raynham, Mass.) smacked a leadoff single to right field and Wagner poked a single just over the infield into right field to put runners on the corners with no outs. Matos later drove a deep fly ball to center field to plate Wensley and give Wheaton a one-run edge.
The Lyons opened the scoring with three runs in the bottom of the first after loading the bases with no outs. Wagner drew a run-scoring walk and Ayres was hit by a pitch with the sacks still full to force in back-to-back runs. Bellan singled to right to bring home another run, but Ayres and Wagner both got hung up on the bases, resulting in two outs on the play to end the inning.
The Engineers' offense put pressure on the home team right away in the second inning with senior designated hitter Andrew Cash (Marlboro, Mass.) working a leadoff walk before three straight hits to bring in a trio of runs. Junior first baseman Jonathan Lattimer (Windsor, Conn.) singled before Zawacki and Roethlein came through with back-to-back RBI doubles, including a two-run knock from Roethlein to knot the game at 3-3. First year right fielder Miles Pratt (Hampton, N.H.) gave WPI the lead with a run-producing single to right and a sacrifice fly off the bat of senior center fielder Tommy Burns (Morris Plains, N.J.) bumped the margin to two for the visitors.
Wheaton answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame to pull even at 5-5. Junior shortstop Ray Toth (Granby, Mass.) drew a lead-off walked and first year right fielder Dwayne Burgo Jr. (Taunton, Mass.) reached on an error to put runners on the corners with no outs. Beauregard got in on the trendiest way to drive in a run for the day with his own sacrifice fly to bring Toth home with the fourth Lyon run. Wensley reached on a fielder's choice to knock in Burgo Jr with the equalizer.
Wheaton took the lead again with three two-out runs in the fourth for an 8-5 cushion. Sophomore center fielder Robbie Lamond (North Kingstown, R.I.) was hit by a pitch for the second time in the ballgame and Wensley was issued a free pass to set up a two-run double to center field from Wagner to give the Lyons a 7-5 lead. Ayres followed with an RBI single to right center to plate Wagner and give Wheaton a three-run lead.
WPI didn't waste any time reclaiming the lead with four runs in the fifth to take a 9-8 edge. The Engineers took advantage of Burns being hit by a pitch and Cash reaching on an error to open the frame. Lattimer dumped a single to center field to load the bases, before Zawacki delivered a two-run single to left field to pull the visitors within one at 8-7. Cappello laced a single through the left side, later in the inning, to plate the game-tying run, before Roethlein scored the go-ahead run on a ground out from junior second baseman Liam Keblin (Newton, Mass.).
The Lyons tied the game again with a single run in the seventh to make it 9-9. Bellan and Burgo Jr bookended singles around an out to put runners on the corners with one out for Wheaton. Beauregard followed with a sacrifice bunt to the pitcher to bring home Bellan from third with the tying run.
The Lyons return to action on Thursday, March 27 when they host Rhode Island College at 3:30 p.m., while WPI hosts Nichols College on March 27 at the New England Baseball Complex for a 3:00 p.m. first pitch.
