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Apr 29, 2007

Wheaton Captures 2007 NEWMAC Baseball Championship

NORTON, Mass.-- The seventh-ranked Wheaton College baseball team will make a return to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in eight seasons, as the top-seeded Lyons claimed their third consecutive New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament championship and eighth in the league's nine-year history after downing fourth seed Babson College, 5-3 Sunday afternoon at Sidell Stadium.

Improving to 27-10 after winning its fourth straight game, Wheaton will return to Whitehouse Field in Harwich on Wednesday, May 16 for the start of the NCAA New England Regional Tournament.  The pairings are scheduled to be announced on Monday, May 14.  The Beavers fell to 23-12 in the loss.

The Lyon offense gave junior starter Josh Moore (Manchester, NH/Manchester Memorial) all the run support he'd need in the first three innings, as the hosts put up three runs in the second and a pair more in the third to take a 5-1 lead.   Senior Travis Anthoine (Portland, ME/Portland) delivered the second frame's big blow with a two-run double to right center.  Junior Jake Yagjian (Brewster, MA/Nauset Regional) also knocked in a run.

Yagjian ended up scoring a run in the third as senior Jeff Martin (Marblehead, MA/Marblehead) launched a two-out triple to right center.  Sophomore Karl Olson (Bethel, ME/Gould Academy) plated Martin in the next at bat thanks to a double off the right field fence.  Babson took an initial 1-0 lead on an RBI single from senior Andrew Collins (South Boston, MA/Boston Latin) in the second before cutting its four-run deficit in half on the strength of senior Ryan Campbell's (Manchester, NH/Trinity) two-run shot to left in the sixth.

Babson sophomore relief pitcher Pete Bizinkauskas (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury), who entered the game in the second, kept the Beavers within striking distance, as he retired 14 batters in a row from the third through eighth innings.  Babson attempted to begin a one-out rally in the eighth by placing a runner on first via a Wheaton miscue, but Moore set down the next two batters on a fly out to left and strikeout to get out of the inning unscathed.  Sophomore closer Josh Simmons (Cranston, RI/Cranston West) came on in the ninth with a runner on first and proceeded to get two quick outs on a double-play ball before inducing a groundball to second to end the game.

Moore improved to 6-1 on the season after becoming Wheaton's third straight starter to pitch into the ninth in tournament play, as he fanned six and walked two with seven hits.  Simmons earned his conference-leading sixth save of the season.  Babson junior Robbie Leer (Edina, MN/Edina) was saddled with the loss after giving up three runs, two earned, with two hits and three walks in 1.1 innings.

Yagjian paced the Blue and White offense by going 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, Anthoine drove in a pair of runs and Martin scored twice.  Sophomore Bryan Evans (Bellaire, TX/Episcopal) went 3-for-4 with a run for the Beavers, Collins was 2-for-4 with the RBI, and Campbell plated two runs while scoring one.