BRIGHTON, Mass. — First year left fielder Brayden Lewis (Hopedale, Mass.) homered in the 10th inning and the Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team added another run to come away with a 7-6 victory in 10 innings this afternoon over host Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the first game of a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference doubleheader at Pellagrini Diamond in Brighton, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 22-9 overall and 9-4 in league play, while the Engineers slip to 11-17 and 8-4.
Each side collected 13 hits in the game. Wheaton never trailed and held leads of 3-0, 4-1 and 5-3, before MIT tied the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh to make it 5-5.
Lewis was 2-5 with two runs batted in, a pair of runs scored and a stolen base for the Lyons, while senior third baseman Ray Toth (Granby, Mass.) was 2-4 with two RBI, a double and a run scored. Sophomore designated hitter Logan Downey (Warwick, R.I.) was 3-4 with an RBI and two runs scored as one of five Wheaton hitters with multiple hits. Senior left-handed reliever Josh Fischer (Plymouth, Mass.) was credited with the win to improve to 2-0 after tossing two innings of one-run ball on two hits and a strikeout. Junior southpaw starting pitcher Aiden Cardoza (Dartmouth, Mass.) gave up three runs (two earned) on nine hits and fanned three in five and two-thirds innings.
First year first baseman James Dempsey (Grand Rapids, Mich.) enjoyed a four-hit effort in five at-bats with a double, a run batted in and two runs scored for the Engineers. Senior designated hitter Zev Moore (Jerusalem, Israel) was 3-5 with a double, a triple, a run scored and an RBI. Junior right fielder Maximo Del Pino (New York, N.Y.) contributed with a 2-4 showing with a run batted in. Senior relief pitcher Chase Rubin (Arlington, Va.) was saddled with the loss to fall to 2-1 after giving up two runs on six hits and fanning a batter in three innings pitched.
Lewis snapped a 5-5 tie, hitting the second pitch he saw down the left field line and out of the park for his team-leading eighth homer of the year to give the Lyons a 6-5 edge. Downey and first year right fielder Derek Babineau Jr. (Scituate, Mass.) sandwiched a single around a fielder's choice by junior center fielder Robbie Lamond (North Kingstown, R.I.) to load the bases with one out. Sophomore pinch-hitter Jeremy Aylward (Hingham, Mass.) hit into a fielder's choice that resulted in Downey scoring an important seventh run for Wheaton.
MIT scored a run in the bottom of the 10th, but came up short of tying the game. Junior catcher John Dwyer (Northport, N.Y.) smacked a lead-off double to left field and scored one out later on a single up the middle off the bat of Dempsey to pull the home team within a run.
The Lyons broke into the scoring column with three runs in the top of the second to take a 3-0 lead. Downey and Lamond collected consecutive singles to open the frame, before Toth ripped a two-run double down the left field line to bring both runners around to score. Toth later scored when first year shortstop Evan Jones (West Haven, Conn.) reached on an error.
The Engineers got a run back in the bottom of the frame to make it 3-1. Dempsey cracked a double to left field and Del Pino followed with a two-out single to right center to knock in MIT's first run of the day.
The teams traded runs in the third to keep it a two-run ballgame. Lewis reached on an error to open the inning, stole second base, advanced to third on an infield single from senior designated hitter Collin Reilly (Marshfield, Mass.) and scored on a sacrifice bunt from Downey to bump Wheaton's lead to 4-1. The Engineers matched the run when first year shortstop Dalton Chi (Cerritos, Calif.) reached on an error and Moore belted a two-out triple down the right field line to plate Chi with the home team's second run.
MIT's offense came through again with two outs to score a run in the bottom of the sixth to cut the deficit to 4-3. Dempsey and Del Pino hit back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners with two outs, before senior third baseman Owen Malone (Portsmouth, R.I.) served a single to left to bring home Dempsey and make it a one-run game.
The Lyons got the run back with a marker in the seventh to give them a 5-3 advantage. Junior catcher Ty Bellan (Franklin, Mass.) laced a lead-off single up the middle, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and to third on a ground out, before Lewis hit a two-out opposite field single through the right side to drive in Bellan.
The Engineers finally pulled even with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning to level the score at 5-5. Junior middle infielder Jack Finnegan (Essex, Conn.) drew a one-out walk, before Moore doubled to the gap in left center to put both runners in scoring position. Dwyer followed with a sacrifice fly to center as Finnegan scampered home. Spivey kept the inning going with an RBI single up the middle to plate Moore with the tying run.
The teams will meet again later today in game two of the NEWMAC twinbill.
