AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth, highlighted by a run-scoring double off the bat of senior second baseman Marcus Rodrigues (Lincoln, R.I.) to give the Lyons a 6-5 walk-off victory over Lakeland University this afternoon at Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale, Fla. as part of the RussMatt Central Baseball Invitational.
The Lyons improve to a perfect 3-0, while the Muskies drop to 2-5.
Each team rapped out 10 hits in the game, but it was Wheaton's bullpen that left Lakeland scratching its head, helping to strand 16 Muskie baserunners.
The Lyons' pitching out of the pen was outstanding with five hurlers combining to throw six and two-thirds innings, while allowing one unearned run on four hits and six walks to go with 12 strikeouts. First year right-hander Cameron Hasenfus (Norfolk, Mass.) allowed just two hits and a pair of walks, while fanning five batters and giving up an unearned run in two and two-thirds innings and sophomore righty Jack Cali (East Taunton, Mass.) struck out a pair of batters in an inning and two-thirds that saw him allow just one base runner via a free pass. Junior reliever John DeBarber (Seymour, Conn.) struck out the side and allowed a hit in the eighth inning and first year right-hander Tyler Ballard (Milford, Mass.) struck out two batters in the ninth inning and did not allow a hit to earn his first collegiate victory and improve to 1-0.
Rodrigues was 2-5 at the plate with two runs batted in and a double for Wheaton, while sophomore first baseman Brandon Westerfield (Wakefield, R.I.) was 2-4 with two RBI and a double. Senior designated hitter Collin Reilly (Marshfield, Mass.) contributed with two hits in four at-bats, while smacking a double and scoring a pair of runs.
Sophomore right fielder Sean Gregorius (Germantown, Wis.) led Lakeland, going 3-6 with two RBI, a stolen base and a run scored and junior third baseman J.T. Cortinas (Chino Hills, Calif.) was 2-4 with a run batted in and a walk. Junior center fielder Jordan Domingue (Victorville, Calif.) contributed at the plate with a 2-4 day that included a pair of stolen bases, two walks and two runs scored. Junior starting pitcher Mikey Hernandez (Lennox, Calif.) surrendered five runs on nine hits and no walks, while setting down four batters on strikes. Junior righty reliever Byron Lupian (Corona, Calif.) was saddled with the loss after giving up a run on one hit in a third of an inning of work.
The Lyons entered the bottom of the ninth with a 5-3 deficit, before senior third baseman Ray Toth (Granby, Mass.) led off the frame by beating out a ground ball to third for a single. He was lifted in favor of first year pinch-runner Wyatt Soucie (North Yarmouth, Maine). Sophomore shortstop Logan Downey (Warwick, R.I.) was then hit by a pitch and both runners moved into scoring position when Lupian threw the ball into center field on a failed pick-off attempt at second base. First year left fielder Brayden Lewis (Hopedale, Mass.) hit what looked to be a potential double-play ball to shortstop, but the ball was mishandled with Soucie scoring on the play and Downey scampering to third base. The Muskies clung to a one-run lead with runners on the corners, before junior catcher Ty Bellan (Franklin, Mass.) belted a sacrifice fly to deep center field to plate Downey with the tying run and set up Rodrigues with Lewis standing on first base. The middle infielder responded with a booming double just out of the reach of the Lakeland outfielder in the left-center field gap as Lewis rounded the bases to score the game-winning run.
Following two scoreless frames, the Muskies broke out for four runs in the top of the third to take a lead that they held until the ninth. Five straight batters reached safely to start the inning, including an infield single by senior left fielder Chris Day (Victorville, Calif.), a perfectly placed bunt single down the third base line off the bat of first year shortstop Sam Goodrum (Fort Collins, Colo.) and a walk drawn by Domingue to load the bases. Gregarious came through with a two-run single to center field, before Hernandez worked a walk to re-load the bases. Sophomore first baseman Rily Roberts (Chattanooga, Tenn.) grounded to shortstop for a fielder's choice to knock in Domingue with the third run, before a squeeze bunt-turned single was put down by Cortinas to plate Gregorius from third to make it 4-0.
Wheaton got a run back in the bottom of the inning to cut the deficit to 4-1. Lewis ripped a one-out double down the line, before moving to third on a balk. One out later, Rodrigues came through with an RBI single through the left side to plate Lewis with the Lyons' first run of the day.
Lakeland got the run back in the top of the fourth after loading the bases with one out. Roberts grounded to short with Domingue scoring on the play to increase the Muskies' advantage to 5-1.
Wheaton chipped away with single runs in the sixth and eighth innings to make it a two-run ballgame. Reilly reached on a one-out single through the left side, advanced to second on a wild pitch and was knocked in on a double to the left-center gap by Westerfield to make it 5-2 in the bottom of the sixth. The two combined again in the eighth to pull one run closer when Reilly launched a two-out double to right-center and Westerfield followed with a single up the middle to plate Reilly.
The Lyons return to play tomorrow at Lake Myrtle Sports Complex when they take on Rochester Institute of Technology at 11:00 a.m. in Auburndale, Fla., while Lakeland plays Pennsylvania State University-Brandywine later today at 1:45 p.m.
