NORTON, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team fell short in a ninth-inning rally of a 7-3 loss to visiting Babson College this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Sidell Stadium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons, who received votes in the most recent American Baseball Coaches Association and D3baseball.com national polls, fall to 11-5 and 2-2 following their home opener. The Beavers win their fifth straight to improve to 9-7 and 3-1.
Babson rapped out 12 hits and scored in six different innings. The Beavers scored a pair of runs in the top of the third to break a 1-1 tie, before Wheaton got a run back in the fourth to make it a one-run game. Babson tacked on single runs in the fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings to increase its lead to 7-2, before the Lyons scored a run in the ninth and ended a threat to tie after hitting into a double play with the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate.
The first five hitters in the Wheaton lineup all had hits, including first year left fielder Brayden Lewis (Hopedale, Mass.), who hit a solo homer. Senior second baseman Marcus Rodrigues (Lincoln, R.I.) was 2-4 with a double and a walk and junior catcher Ty Bellan (Franklin, Mass.) knocked in a pair of runs and became the 15th player in school history register two sacrifice flies in a game and the first since Drew Spirito '22 on April 10, 2022 against Springfield College. Sophomore starting pitcher Evan Yakovonis (Whitman, Mass.) was saddled with the loss to drop to 0-1 after allowing three runs on seven hits to go with a strikeout.
Graduate student first baseman Ryan Grace (Concord, Mass.) hit a home run and knocked in two runs, while junior right-handed starter Jason Finkelstein (Walpole, Mass.) allowed just two runs over seven innings to lead Babson. Grace's homer was one of three solo shots in the game for the Beavers. Junior right fielder Ryan Liss (Hollywood, Fla.) smacked a double and hit a solo round tripper, while scoring a pair of runs. First year third baseman Bobby Christensen (Scotch Plains, N.J.) was 2-4 with a run batted in and sophomore center fielder Ben Valente (Newton, Mass.) also hit a long ball for the visitors. Finkelstein scattered seven hits and walked a batter to go with a pair of strikeouts to pick up the win and improve to 1-2.
Babson cracked the scoring column in the opening frame to take a 1-0 edge. Sophomore Dylan Drazka (Rye Brook, N.Y.) doubled to right field and later scored on a single through the right side off the bat of Grace.
The Lyons matched the run with one of their own in the bottom of the second. Wheaton loaded the bases with one out after a single from sophomore right fielder Declan Lush (Seekonk, Mass.), a walk from senior third baseman Ray Toth (Granby, Mass.) and an infield single from first year shortstop Evan Jones (West Haven, Conn.). Bellan flew out to center to plate Lush with the first run of the day for the home team to pull even at 1-1.
The Beavers did all their damage with two outs in the third for their only frame with multiple runs. Grace crushed a ball over the right field fence for his team-leading fourth long ball of the year. Liss followed with a double down the right field line and came around to score on a single from sophomore Gabe Cushner (Harrington Park, N.J.) and – just like that – Babson owned a 3-1 margin.
Wheaton made it a one-run game in the bottom of the fourth when Lewis lined a rocket that never changed height and ended up over the left center fence for his third homer of the year to lead off the frame.
Valente matched the lead-off homer with one of his own to restore the Beavers' two-run lead at 4-2 after the fifth inning. Following a pair of strikeouts, Liss hit Babson's third long ball of the day with a blast over the right field fence to bump the visitors' advantage to 5-2.
The Beavers added single runs in the eighth and ninth to establish a five-run cushion. Christensen and senior Zander Teator (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) opened the eighth with back-to-back walks, before moving into scoring position on a wild pitch. Senior Owen Stephens (Glastonbury, Conn.) reached on an infield single to shortstop, allowing Christensen to score Babson's sixth run of the afternoon. Cushner scored the Beavers' final run after getting hit by a pitch, scampering to second on a wild pitch and scoring ahead of a Christensen double down the right field line for Babson's fifth two-out run of the game.
The Lyons looked to make a dramatic comeback in the ninth, loading the bases twice. Sophomore designated hitter Logan Downey (Warwick, R.I.) reached on an infield error, Toth drew a full-count walk and sophomore pinch-hitter Dwayne Burgo Jr. (Taunton, Mass.) came through with a single to right field to load the bases with no outs. Bellan delivered his second sacrifice fly to center field to bring Downey to the plate and make it a 7-3 game. Rodrigues drew a walk to re-load the bases for junior center fielder Robbie Lamond (North Kingstown, R.I.) in the lineup's two-hole as the game's tying run. He popped the ball straight up over third base. The infield fly rule was invoked, but the third baseman was unable to catch the ball. Although Lamond was automatically out on the play and all runners were free to do what they wanted, Toth was caught a step off third base and Christensen picked up the ball and made the tag to complete the rare double play and end the game.
Wheaton returns to action on Thrusday, April 2 when it hosts Suffolk University at 3:30 p.m., while the Beavers return to the diamond tomorrow when they travel to Hartford, Conn. to take on Trinity College (Conn.) at 3:30 p.m.
