MILLBURY, Mass. — Sophomore Declan Lush (Seekonk, Mass.) hit a game-tying homer in the ninth and junior center fielder Robbie Lamond (North Kingstown, R.I.) delivered a walk-off single in the 11th to give the Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over visiting Nichols College this afternoon in the nightcap of a twinbill split at the Shaw Elementary School baseball field in Millbury, Mass.

The Lyons improve to 8-3 on the season with their seventh come-back win of the season, while the Bison slip to 5-6. 

Both teams committed three errors in the game and combined to strike out 25 times. 

Lamond was 3-5 in the game, including a double, and Lush was 1-2 with a run scored after coming into the game as a pinch-hitter. First year left fielder Brayden Lewis (Hopedale, Mass.) was 1-3 with a double and two runs batted in for Wheaton. Sophomore right-handed reliever Jack Cali (East Taunton, Mass.) was outstanding for the Lyons, coming on to retire all seven batters he faced, including six by strikeout and fanned the side to keep the score tied in the 11th to set up Wheaton for the win in the bottom of the inning. He improves to 1-1 on the season. Junior starting southpaw Aiden Cardoza (Dartmouth, Mass.) gave up just one run on six hits and no walks, while striking out three batters for the Lyons.

The top three batters in the Nichols' lineup all registered two-hit outings with sophomore left fielder Ryan Keating (Wilbraham, Mass.) and senior third baseman Julian Galvan (Torrance, Calif.) both going 2-6 and junior second baseman Anthony Hackert (Danbury, Conn.) collecting a pair of hits in five at-bats. Junior Adam Pivacek (Tolland, Conn.) was 1-2 with a two-run double and senior catcher Kyle Birks (East Longmeadow, Mass.) was 1-4 with a run batted in. First year righty reliever Lincoln Waterman (Killingly, Conn.) was saddled with the loss after giving up a run on two hits to go with a strikeout in an inning and a third of relief to drop to 0-1 on the season for the Bison.

Cali entered the game for Wheaton with runners on second and third with two outs in the top of the ninth and ended the threat with a strikeout.

Lush stepped into the box as a pinch-hitter to lead off the bottom of the frame for the Lyons and crushed a 1-0 pitch over the left field fence to knot the contest at 3-3. Cali hurled a 1-2-3 10th and Wheaton loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the 10th, but Nichols managed a force out at the plate on a grounder to second and a strikeout to end the threat to send the game into the 11th.

Cali struck out the side in the top of the 11th and senior Ray Toth (Granby, Mass.), who entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the ninth, opened the frame with a sharp single up the middle for the Lyons. Junior catcher Ty Bellan (Franklin, Mass.) executed a sacrifice bunt to put Toth into scoring position, where he was lifted in favor of first year pinch-runner Wyatt Soucie (North Yarmouth, Maine). One out later, Lamond laced a two-out single through the hole on the left side to bring Soucie around to score the game-winning run.

Wheaton scored the first two runs of the contest to take a 2-0 lead after one inning of play. Sophomore right fielder Dwayne Burgo Jr. (Taunton, Mass.) reached on a fielder's choice and senior first baseman Collin Reilly (Marshfield, Mass.) was hit by a pitch. The pair moved into scoring position on a double steal to set up a two-run double to the left center gap off the bat of Lewis to give the home team a 2-0 margin. 

The Bison cut the deficit in half with a run in the top of the second to make it 2-1. Sophomore first baseman Collin Harty (Whitinsville, Mass.) singled and later scored on a two-out single to center field from Birks to make it a one-run game. 

Nichols rallied for two more runs in the sixth to take a 3-2 edge. Harty reached base on a fielder's choice and sophomore Andrew Rocca (Wolcott, Conn.) followed with a single to center, before Pivacek came through with a pinch-double to right center to knock in both runners and give the Bison their only lead of the game.

Wheaton returns to the diamond on Tuesday, March 24 when it travels to Babson Park, Mass. to take on Babson College in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference opener at 3:30 p.m., while Nichols opens the Conference of New England slate at home against Curry College on the same day at 3:00 p.m.