WORCESTER, Mass. -- The Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team was defeated by host Clark University (Mass.), 6-1, in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at the Granger Athletic Complex in Worcester, Mass.

The Lyons fall to 14-11 overall and 6-2 in league play, while the Cougars win their third in a row and five of their last six to improve to 18-8 and 4-4.

Clark pitching held Wheaton to just five hits, while the offense rapped out 12 hits. The Cougars' bottom half of the order did most of the day's damage, going 7-11 with five runs batted in.

Clark scored the first six runs of the game, before the Lyons got on the board with a run in the bottom of the ninth.

Senior first baseman Timmy Wagner (Hingham, Mass.) was 1-4 with a double and a run batted in for Wheaton, while junior shortstop Ray Toth (Granby, Mass.) was 1-3 and sophomore right fielder Shawn Cali (East Taunton, Mass.) contributed, going 1-4 with a run scored. Sophomore southpaw starting pitcher Aiden Cardoza (Dartmouth, Mass.) was saddled with the loss to fall to 2-3 after allowing four runs on nine hits and a walk to go with a strikeout in four and two-thirds innings of work. 

Sophomore right fielder Michael Salzillo (Johnston, R.I.) led the Cougars with a 2-4 day at the plate, including a triple and knocked in four runs, while junior shortstop Alfonso Jalil (Samborondon, Ecuador) was 2-3 with a run batted in. Graduate student catcher Anthony LoCasto (New Rochelle, N.Y.) was 3-4 with two runs scored. Junior relief pitcher Tommy Flaherty (London, England) earned the win in relief, surrendering just one hit over four scoreless frames, while fanning four batters. First year starting pitcher Robby Roth (New Providence, R.I.) was also outstanding, giving up just two hits to go with a pair of strikeouts over the first four innings of work.

Clark got on the board with a run in the first to take a 1-0 edge. Senior center fielder Carter Doran (Natick, Mass.) drew a lead-off walk and later scored on a single to right field off the bat of junior third baseman Dom Mariani (Walpole, Mass.). 

The home team added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 3-0 margin. Junior first baseman Brayden Hollinrake (Goffstown, N.H.) and LoCasto opened the inning with back-to-back singles, before Salzillo came through with a one-out, two-run triple to right center field to give the Cougars a three-run lead. 

Clark tacked on another run in the fifth for a four-run advantage. Graduate student left fielder Ryan Caulfield (Simsbury, Conn.) was hit by a pitch to open the frame and moved to second on a ground out, before Jalil laced a run-scoring single through the left side to make it 4-0.

The Cougars scored their final runs of the day to take a 6-0 lead after seven complete innings. The first two batters of the inning struck out, but Hollinrake worked a walk to keep the inning alive. LoCasto followed with a single through the left side and Jalil was issued a free pass to load the bases. Salzillo delivered a single through the right side to bring home Hollinrake and LoCasto with a pair of insurance runs.

The Lyons broke into the scoring column in the top of the ninth inning to break up the shutout and make it 6-1. Cali served a single to right field and Wagner ripped a double down the left field line to score Cali and extend Wagner's consecutive-game RBI streak to four.

The teams will meet again on Sunday, April 13 for a single game at 12:00 p.m. at the Granger Athletic Complex in Worcester, Mass.