NEW LONDON, Conn. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team was defeated by host United States Coast Guard Academy, 10-5, in game two of a doubleheader split in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference action at Nitchman Field in New London, Conn.
The Lyons fall to 20-9 overall and 8-4 in league play, while the Bears improve to 11-15 and 5-7.
Coast Guard rapped out 13 hits and took advantage of four Wheaton errors, while the Lyons collected 10 hits in the game.
The Lyons opened the scoring with a run in the second, before the Bears scored twice in the bottom of the inning to take a one-run lead. Coast Guard tacked on a run in the third, before Wheaton rallied for three runs in the fourth to take a 4-3 edge. The Bears tallied four runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 7-4 margin and never looked back.
Junior catcher Ty Bellan (Franklin, Mass.) knocked in a pair of runs and was 1-4 with a double for the Lyons, while senior second baseman Marcus Rodrigues (Lincoln, R.I.) was 2-4 with an RBI. Sophomore designated hitter Logan Downey (Warwick, R.I.) collected three hits in four at-bats and scored a pair of runs and junior center fielder Robbie Lamond (North Kingstown, R.I.) was 2-4 with a run scored. Junior right-handed reliever Braden Young (Foxborough, Mass.) suffered the loss to drop to 3-2 after allowing four runs on six hits and a walk in an inning of work.
Junior second baseman Carson Cho (Haymarket, Va.) paced Coast Guard with a 3-5 effort, including a home run, two RBI, a pair of runs scored and a walk. First year shortstop Yadisson Karbalaieasghar (Coral Springs, Fla.) was 2-5 with a homer, a double, two runs batted in and a run scored. Sophomore left fielder Max Van Auken (Franklinville, N.J.) contributed with a 2-4 showing and knocked in a run to go with a walk and a run scored. Senior right-handed starting pitcher Raymond Priddy (Chico, Calif.) improved to 2-2 after giving up five runs on eight hits and two walks to go with three strikeouts in six innings.
Wheaton's first three batters all singled to load the bases in a three-run fourth inning to erase a two-run deficit and take a 4-3 edge. Downey served a single to center to open the frame, before Lamond and first year right fielder Derek Babineau Jr. (Scituate, Mass.) followed with singles of their own. One out later, Bellan delivered a two-run double down the right field line to knot the score at 3-3. Rodrigues came through with a two-out single to left to plate Babineau Jr. and give the Lyons the lead.
The Bears answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 7-4 margin. Cho led off with a single to left and junior first baseman Nate Stafford (Jupiter, Fla.) drew a full-count walk, before Van Auken laced an RBI single through the right side to tie the game at 4-4. Senior Tyler Michalek (Fort Worth, Texas) followed with a sacrifice fly to bring home Stafford with the go-ahead run. Karbalaieasghar pulled a two-run homer over the left field fence to give Coast Guard a three-run lead.
The Bears tacked on an insurance run in the fifth to take an 8-4 advantage. Stafford reached on an error to open the inning and Van Auken followed with a single to left. Both runners moved up a base on a sacrifice bunt, before Stafford scampered home on a wild pitch.
Wheaton got a run back in the top of the sixth to cut the difference to 8-5. Babineau Jr. drew a four-pitch, lead-off walk and stole second base. A ground out put Babineau Jr. on third, before he raced home on a wild pitch for the Lyons' fifth and final run of the game.
Coast Guard added a pair of two-out runs in the bottom of the inning to take a five-run lead. First year right fielder Peter Karloutsos (Ridgefield, Conn.) worked a two-out base on balls, before Cho launched a long ball over the right field fence to give the home team double-digit runs.
Wheaton got on the board first with a run in the second. The Lyons loaded the bases with no outs after Downey and Lamond smacked back-to-back singles to open the frame and Babineau Jr. drew a full-count walk. Priddy induced a double-play, but Downey scored to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.
The Bears scored twice in the bottom of the inning to take a 2-1 lead. Senior third baseman Luke Percifield (Pinellas Park, Fla.) singled and later advanced to third on an error, before scoring on a balk. Karloutsos struck out on what would have been the third out, but the ball got past the Wheaton catcher, allowing the inning to continue as Karloutsos stood on first base. Cho followed with a full-count walk, before Stafford made the passed ball hurt with an RBI single to give Coast Guard the lead.
The Bears added another run in the third to pad their lead at 3-1. Michalek singled through the right side, before Karbalaieasghar belted a double to the gap in left-center to put both runners in scoring position with no outs. Percifield later reached on a fielder's choice as Michalek scored the home team's third run.
The Lyons return to to the diamond on Wednesday, April 22 when they travel to North Dartmouth, Mass. to take on University of Massachusetts Dartmouth at 3:30 p.m., while Coast Guard heads to Northborough, Mass. on April 21 for a league game with host Worcester Polytechnic Institute at the New England Baseball Complex at 3:30 p.m.
