The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference

NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College baseball team is one win away from the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament championship round, as the second-seeded Lyons scored Thursday's final 12 runs en route to a 13-2 second-round triumph over third seed Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the double-elimination tourney at Sidell Stadium.

Wheaton, which is ranked 12th nationally by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), advances to Saturday's semifinal round to face the winner of a game between MIT and sixth-seeded Clark University at host Babson College at 4:00 p.m. With today's victory, the Lyons won their fifth straight to improve to 29-7. The Engineers, now 16-14, play Clark in Saturday's first elimination game at 9:30 a.m.

After falling behind by a 2-1 score in the top of the third, the Wheaton bats came alive in the home half, collecting five runs on the strength of a pair of two-RBI singles from juniors Robert Foote (Walpole, MA/Walpole) and Nick Pecora (Highland Park, NJ/Immaculata). The Lyons added a run in the fourth to balloon their lead to 7-2 before tacking on three-run frames in the sixth and eighth.

Wheaton's offense exploded for 16 hits after yesterday's 22-hit onslaught against Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Junior righthander Adam Gingras (Woonsocket, RI/Woonsocket) improved to 6-0 on the hill after scattering six hits over eight innings with six strikeouts and one walk. Freshman southpaw Chad Kasik (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) fired a scoreless ninth while fanning a pair of MIT batters. Engineer junior Chris D'Annunzio (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood) was saddled with the loss, surrendering six earned runs on three hits with one strikeout and three walks in 2.1 innings.

The hosts picked up the game's first run with a two-out rally in the opening frame, as senior Scott Guillerault (South Portland, ME/South Portland) drew a walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on freshman Sean Munley's (Trenton, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton) flair to center. MIT strung together four hits and plated two runs in the third, as senior Kevin Wheeler (Tucson, AZ/Catalina Foothills) and freshman Brian Doyle (Hopkinton, MA/Hopkinton) poked run-scoring singles.

The Lyons only needed three hits to conjure up five runs in the bottom of the third, as a walk, single and hit batter jammed the bags with one out. Munley brought home a run with a walk, Foote's single up the middle scored two more, and Pecora's shot to center two batters later made it 6-2. Gingras settled in from there, going 1-2-3 in the fourth and limiting the visitors to one hit over his final five innings. Gingras retired 15 of 18 batters from the third through eighth frames.

Eight of Wheaton's nine starters recorded at least one hit, with Guillerault leading the charge at a 2-for-3 clip with three RBI, a trio of runs, a double, a walk and a hit by pitch. Foote, Pecora and sophomore Jeff Lieneck (Foxboro, MA/Xaverian Brothers) each smacked two hits and drove in two runs, Munley plated two runs, senior Ken Depasse (Holden, MA/Saint John's) went 2-for-3 with two runs, and sophomore Paul Malaguti (Andover, MA/Andover) scored twice. Lieneck notched a pair of doubles, and Pecora had a triple.

Wheeler finished 2-for-3 with the RBI and a walk for MIT, while junior Thomas Phillips (Durham, NC/C.E. Jordan) was 2-for-4. The Engineers spread out four relievers over the final 5.2 innings.

Wheaton Scores Final 12 Runs in 13-2 Triumph Over MIT in Second Round of NEWMAC Baseball Tournament