NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team was defeated by visiting Eastern Connecticut State University, 7-2, this afternoon at Sidell Stadium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons dip to 16-12 on the season, while the Warriors, who received votes in the most recent D3baseball.com/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association national poll, have won three of their last four and improve to 20-7.
Eastern Connecticut State outhit Wheaton 10-7. The Lyons also left nine runners on base, including the bases loaded twice. The visitors scored three times in the top of the first, before Wheaton answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame to make it 3-2. The Warriors scored single runs in the fourth and sixth innings, before capping the scoring with two runs in the top of the ninth.
Senior starting pitcher Dan Driscoll (Waterford, Conn.) struck out nine and allowed just two runs over seven innings and junior first baseman J.T. Clark (Bristol, Conn.) drove in three runs to lead Eastern Connecticut State. Driscoll allowed six hits and a walk and improves to 5-0 on the season, while Clark was 2-4 with a home run and a run scored from the eight spot in the order. Senior shortstop Preston Cosme-Cruz (Bridgeport, Conn.) was 2-5 with a double, a run batted in and a run scored. Senior left fielder Alejandro Soriano (Harford, Conn.) knocked in a pair of runs and hit a home run.
Sophomore third baseman Casey Wensley (Raynham, Mass.) led all batters with three hits in four at-bats to go with a run scored for the Lyons. Senior first baseman Timmy Wagner (Hingham, Mass.) was 1-4 with a double and an RBI and sophomore center fielder Robbie Lamond (North Kingstown, R.I.) contributed with two hits in five at-bats and a run scored. First year right-hander Jack Ritchie (Raynham, Mass.) was charged with the loss to dip to 0-1 after giving up three runs on four hits to go with a strikeout over the first three innings of the game.
The Warriors scored three runs to open the game and take a 3-0 lead after their first run at bat. Senior center fielder Ray Leonzi (Trumbull, Conn.) and senior catcher Hank Penders (Wethersfield, Conn.) hit back-to-back singles to open the frame, before Cosme-Cruz cracked a double to left field to score Leonzi with the game's first run. Soriano followed with a ground out to second to plate Penders, while a sacrifice fly to center off the bat of senior right fielder Josh Cofrancesco (Southington, Conn.) brought home Cosme-Cruz with the third run of the inning.
Wheaton got two of the runs back in the bottom of the inning to cut the deficit to 3-2. Lamond served a lead-off single to left field, before Wensley punched a one-out single to right field. Wagner belted an RBI double to the right-center gap to bring Lamond around to score the first run of the game for the home team. Senior left fielder Kevin Matos (Lawrence, Mass.) followed with a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in Wensley to make it a one-run game for the Lyons.
Driscoll retired the next 14 Lyons that he faced and did not allow a hit until Lamond opened the sixth with a single.
In the meantime, Eastern Connecticut State tacked on two more runs with single scores in the fourth and sixth innings. Senior third baseman Emmanuel Zaiter (Miami, Fla.) ripped a double to right field and later took third on a wild pitch. Clark skipped a one-hop, two-out single to right field to drive in the Warriors' fourth run in the fourth. Soriano provided the only run of the sixth with a momentous blast over the right field fence for his first long ball of the season and a 5-2 Eastern lead.
Wheaton loaded the bases in the bottom of the frame with no outs, but Driscoll worked out of the jam unscathed. Sophomore right fielder Shawn Cali (East Taunton, Mass.) and Wensley followed Lamond's knock with singles of their own to push the sacks full. Driscoll induced a come backer to the mound and forced the runner at the plate for the frame's first out, before fanning the next two batters on swinging strikes to escape the threat.
The Lyons loaded the bases again in the eighth with less than two outs, but again came up empty. Cali and Matos sandwiched walks around a Wensley single to load the bases with one out, but first year righty reliever Stephen Rickert (Williston, Vt.) ended the inning with a 6-4-3 double play for Eastern Connecticut State to keep its three-run lead intact.
Clark gave the Warriors two more insurance runs in the ninth to increase their margin to 7-2. Sophomore designated hitter Ian Moser (Bellingham, Mass.) drew a leadoff walk, before Clark launched his second homer of the year over the right field fence.
Wheaton returns to the diamond when it heads to Newport, R.I. on Saturday, April 19 to play No. 15 Salve Regina University in a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference doubleheader at Noon, while Eastern Connecticut State travels to Salisbury, Md. on the same day to take on No. 6 Salisbury University for a 12:00 p.m. twinbill.
