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

BABSON PARK, Mass. - Junior Brian Hughes (Dudley, Mass.) pitched seven one-hit innings as Wheaton College advanced to the championship round of the 2008 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Baseball Tournament with a 7-1 win over third-seeded MIT at Babson's Govoni Field on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, the second-seeded Lyons, ranked third in New England, will have two opportunities to claim the conference championship when they host Springfield College on Sunday, with the first matchup beginning at 11 a.m. Wheaton, undefeated thus far in the double-elimination tourney, needs just one win to clinch its fourth straight title and ninth overall since the conference's inception in 1999. Meanwhile, Springfield must win both games to win their first NEWMAC Championship.

Hughes was spectacular in the start for Wheaton, allowing just one hit, three walks and one hit batter while striking out two in seven-plus innings of work. The junior southpaw retired the first eight batters he faced before surrendering a two-out single to right by sophomore Ben Bersanti (Butte, Mont.) in the fourth. He then set down five straight before running into his toughest jam of the afternoon in the fourth when a hit batter, an error, and a fielder's choice put runners at second and third with two away. However, Hughes induced an inning-ending fly out to right to escape unscathed.

Wheaton plated its first run without the benefit of a hit in the bottom of the third, as first-year Eric Laliberte (Nashua, N.H.) drew a leadoff walk from MIT junior Matt Loper (Huntington Beach, Calif.), stole second, took third on a fly out by sophomore Paul Malaguti (Andover, Mass.), and scored on a wild pitch. The Lyons added two more runs in the seventh, as senior Ken Depasse (Holden, Mass.) and Malaguti recorded back-to-back singles with one out and moved into scoring position on another wild pitch. Depasse then scored on an RBI groundout by senior Jake Yagjian (Brewster, Mass.), and Malaguti later scored on a single up the middle by first-year Sean Munley (Trenton, N.J.).

After Hughes pitched around two walks in the sixth and retired the side in order in the seventh, the Engineers finally broke through with a run in the top of the eighth. Bersanti drew a leadoff walk, chasing Hughes from the game, and first-year Brian Doyle (Hopkinton, Mass.) greeted junior reliever Jared Barnes (North Attleboro, Mass.) with a single to left. Barnes would retire the next two hitters, but junior Thomas Phillips (Durham, N.C.) followed with a clutch RBI-single to left to score Bersanti with MIT's first run. That cut the Engineers' deficit to 3-1, but junior closer Josh Simmons (Cranston, R.I.) came on to get the final out of the inning and preserve the Wheaton advantage. The Lyons then padded their lead with three runs in the bottom of the eighth, highlighted by an RBI-double by junior Nick Pecora (Highland Park, N.J.), and Simmons pitched a scoreless ninth to finish off the 7-1 Wheaton victory.

Hughes earned the win to improve to 5-2 on the year while Simmons collected his ninth save. Malaguti and Pecora each went 2-for-4 to pace the Lyons' offense, while Munley drove in a pair.

Loper (3-1) suffered his first loss for MIT, giving up one run on no hits and four walks in 2 2/3 innings. Junior Stephen Toth (Walden, N.Y.) added a strong performance out of the bullpen for the Engineers, giving up two runs on four hits, walking two and fanning six in four innings.

Wheaton College 7, MIT 1 (Apr 26, 2008 at Babson Park, MA)

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MIT......................... 000 000 010 - 1 4 0 (17-15)

Wheaton College..... 001 000 24X - 7 8 1 (30-7)
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Pitchers: MIT - Loper; Toth(3); Vasquez(7); Lamson(8). Wheaton College - Brian Hughes; Jared Barnes(8); Josh Simmons(8).

Win-Brian Hughes(5-2) Save-Josh Simmons(9) Loss-Loper(3-1) T-2:20 A-150
Hughes faced 1 batter in the 8th.

Wheaton Advances To NEWMAC Baseball Tournament Championship With 7-1 Win Over MIT