NORTON, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team erased a late three-run deficit and scored a run in the bottom of the eighth to give it the eventual winning difference in a 9-8 victory over visiting University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) this afternoon at Sidell Stadium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons have won three of their last four and improve to 21-9 on the season, while the Blue Jays slip to 23-14.
The triumph guarantees that Wheaton will have a winning season and ensures it will have at least 21 victories. The Lyons have never won fewer than 21 games in any non-COVID season and have never recorded a losing record in the 29-year history of the program.
The teams combined for 25 hits in the game. Wheaton left just four runners on base and wrapped out 11 hits. The Lyons scored four runs in the bottom of the first, before Saint Joseph matched the total in the top of the third. The Blue Jays scored three more times in the fifth for seven unanswered runs and a 7-4 margin. Wheaton closed within one at 7-6 after six innings, before Saint Joseph tacked on a run in the seventh to increase its lead to 8-6. The Lyons rallied for a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame to tie it, before scoring the eventual game-winner in the eighth.
First year right fielder Derek Babineau, Jr. (Scituate, Mass.) was 2-3 with a double and two runs batted in to go with two runs, a stolen base and a walk for Wheaton, while senior first baseman Collin Reilly (Marshfield, Mass.) knocked in a pair of runs and was 2-4 with a double and two runs scored. Junior catcher Ty Bellan (Franklin, Mass.) was 2-4 with two RBI. Junior right-handed reliever Braden Young (Foxborough, Mass.) picked up the win to improve to 4-2 after one and a third innings of scoreless and hitless relief, while issuing just one walk. Senior left-handed reliever Josh Fischer (Plymouth, Mass.) tossed a scoreless ninth that included a pair of strikeouts and a walk to earn his fifth save of the year.
Senior shortstop JJ Fox (Killingworth, Conn.) led the Blue Jays at the plate, going 2-3 with a double, two runs batted in, two walks and a run scored. Junior right fielder Joseph Fritz (Tampa, Fla.) collected two hits in four at-bats and knocked in a run to go with a run scored and a walk, while senior left fielder Dom Scalia (Northford, Conn.) was 2-5 with a run batted in and a run scored. Senior first baseman Ryan Shaw (Ellington, Conn.) led all hitters with three hits in five at-bats to go with a run scored. First year right-hander Ryan Haecker (Pleasantville, N.Y.) suffered the loss in relief to drop to 0-1.
The Lyons faced an 8-6 deficit in the bottom of the seventh, before scoring twice to knot the game at 8-8. Senior second baseman Marcus Rodrigues (Lincoln, R.I.) opened the frame with a single to right center, before coming around to score from first on a double down the right field line off the bat of Reilly that rattled around in the corner, enabling Wheaton to pull within a run. Reilly moved to third on a ground out, before scoring on a wild pitch to even the score. The errant offering proved to be prophetic for the Lyons' go-ahead run in the eighth as well.
Babineau Jr. drew a lead-off full count walk, before scampering to second on a pick-off attempt that got away from the first baseman. He moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and then raced home on a wild pitch to give Wheaton a one-run edge and its third run as a result of a wild pitch.
The Lyons cracked the scoring column with four runs in the bottom of the first to take a 4-0 lead. Rodrigues led off the inning by reaching on an error, before first year left fielder Brayden Lewis (Hopedale, Mass.) singled to right field to put runners on the corners with no outs. Reilly delivered a single to left to plate Rodrigues with the game's first run. Sophomore designated hitter Logan Downey (Warwick, R.I.) drew a walk to load the bases. Downey scored the home team's second run on a wild pitch. One out later, Babineau Jr. gave Wheaton a four-run lead with a two-run single to left.
Saint Joseph was able to get all four runs back in the top of the third with a five-hit showing. Senior catcher Chase Belisle (Wolcott, Conn.) drew a leadoff walk and junior center fielder Ben Balducci (South Windsor, Conn.) singled through the right side to set up Fox for an RBI double down the left field line. First year designated hitter Sam Balducci (South Windsor, Conn.) knocked in another run with a ground out later in the frame to drive in the older Balducci and cut the deficit in half at 4-2. Scalia and Fritz both came through with RBI singles in the inning to tie the game at 4-4.
The Blue Jays rallied for three two-out runs in the fifth to take a 7-4 advantage. Shaw and Fritz put together back-to-back singles, before junior second baseman Tyler Carlstrom (Rocky Hill, Conn.) made it three straight base knocks with an RBI single to the gap in left center field. Carlstrom advanced to second on a passed ball to put both runners in scoring position. Belisle chopped a ball in front of the plate and would have reached safely regardless, but the Lyons pitcher elected to throw a high toss to first that sailed well over the first baseman's head, allowing both runners to score and give the visitors a three-run lead.
Wheaton recouped two of the runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it a one-run game at 7-6. Lamond reached on an infield single and Babineau belted a double to right to put both runners in scoring position. One out later, Bellan stepped into the box with two outs and came through with a single to right field to knock in both runners and cut the deficit to one.
Saint Joseph added a single run in the seventh after taking advantage of a pair of two-out walks. Belisle and Ben Balducci were each recipients of free passes, before Fox singled to right center to plate Belisle with the Blue Jays' final run of the day for an 8-6 lead.
The Lyons return to the diamond on Saturday, April 25 when they travel to Cambridge, Mass. to take on Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference doubleheader at 12:00 p.m., while Saint Joseph hosts Mitchell College for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference twinbill on the same day at noon.
