Weekly Lyon

Baseball (27-10-2, 10-2) Finishes Third at NCAA New England Regional Tournament

The Wheaton College baseball team finished its season at the NCAA Division III New England Regional Tournament this past weekend at Eastern Connecticut State University in Mansfield, Connecticut. Placing third in the six-team tournament, the second-seeded Lyons started their postseason in strong fashion, defeating fifth-seeded Albertus Magnus, 11-2 on Thursday and fourth-seeded Bridgewater State, 6-2 on Friday. After falling to host Eastern, 6-2 in the winners bracket on Saturday, Wheaton had to return that night to face Bridgewater for the right to advance to Sunday's championship round. The Lyons however ended the year by dropping an 8-5 decision to the Bears. Wheaton is currently ranked 22nd in the country according to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).

On Thursday, senior Scott Beattie (Springvale, ME/Sanford) hit a three-run homerun to highlight a seven-run seventh inning and lead Wheaton to a convincing victory in the opening round of the tournament. Classmate Mike Hunsinger (Fall River, MA/Durfee) picked up his eighth victory of the season and 30th win of his career, firing his fourth complete game of the year. After allowing single runs in the third and fourth innings, he shut out the Falcons the rest of the way, spreading out six hits over the final five innings. In the game, Hunsinger struck out nine batters without issuing a walk.

Versus Bridgewater State on Friday, Wheaton built a 5-0 lead after the first four innings of play en route to the four-run victory. The top six hitters in the Wheaton lineup each drove in a run in the game. Sophomore Keith Cooper (Swampscott, MA/Pingree School) made it 1-0 with an RBI single in the first and freshman Rafael Castillo (Queens, NY/Christ The King) drove in the game's second run with an RBI ground out in the second inning. In the third, junior John Ablondi (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) plated the third Wheaton run with an RBI double, while junior Tim Ziakas (Roxbury, NJ/Roxbury) and sophomore Rob Cipolla (South Windsor, CT/Kingswood-Oxford) gave the Lyons a comfortable 5-0 lead in the fourth with an RBI single and ground ball, respectively. Ziakas was responsible for three runs in the game with an RBI and two runs scored. On the mound, sophomore Jon Jackson (Ipswich, MA/Hamilton-Wenham) pitched his first complete game of the season, limiting the Bears to six hits and two earned runs while striking out nine.

Against host Eastern on Saturday, the Warriors used single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings and took advantage of five Wheaton errors to turn a narrow 3-2 lead into a comfortable 6-2 victory. All of Eastern's runs in the game came after there were two outs. The Lyons cut the gap to 3-2 in the top of the sixth, as Beattie drove in two runs with a one-out single. ECSU answered, driving in two runs with RBI singles in the sixth and eighth innings to stretch the lead back to four runs. Freshman Bryan Duplissie (East Swanzey, NH/Monadnock) suffered the first loss of his collegiate career, giving up nine hits, four runs (one earned) and striking out four batters in 5.1 innings of work. Classmate Joe White (Bedford, NH/Manchester West) threw the final 2.2 innings in relief.

In Wheaton's final game with Bridgewater State, the Bears used a five-run ninth inning and held off a late Wheaton rally to eliminate the Lyons. Bridgewater jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning, however the Lyons used single runs in the fourth and seventh innings to pull within one. Leading 3-2 in the ninth inning, the Bears drove in two runs with a double, followed by an RBI single and a suicide squeeze. Trailing 8-2 in its last at-bat, Wheaton put together a late rally, scoring three runs to pull within 8-5. However, BSC settled in and forced a pop fly to end the game and Wheaton's season. Junior Trevor Alexander (Wilton, ME/Mt. Blue) took the loss, as he struck out three in 3.2 innings of work. Junior Matt Parlato (Bethlehem, CT/Nonnewaug) pitched 3.2 innings of scoreless relief, allowing only one hit and striking out three. Offensively for the Blue and White, Ziakas was 3-for-5 with two runs scored, while Cooper was 2-for-5 with two RBI, a run scored and a triple.

Women's Track and Field Captures ECAC Championship, Men Place 12th Overall

The Wheaton College women's track and field squad took a positive step in defending its NCAA Division III National Championship next weekend by capturing the 2003 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Championship at MIT's Steinbrenner Track Friday afternoon. In scoring 113 points, the Lyons outpaced 47 other teams to capture the title. On the men's side, the Blue and White posted 22 points, finishing in 12th place out of 49 teams.

Five Wheaton athletes and two relay teams posted NCAA Division III national meet qualifying marks in the two-day meet, led by junior Vernick Smith (Camden, NJ/Woodrow Wilson). Smith, who won the 100-meter dash with the fastest Division III time of the year, posted a school record time of 11.75. She also finished second in the 200-meter dash in a provisional time of 24.83 and was a member of the automatic qualifying 4x100-meter relay team, which won the event in 47.68.

Also posting automatic qualifying times were senior co-captains Noreen Kordzeil (Chittenango, NY/Chittenango) and Kristen Cullen (Stoneham, MA/Stoneham). Kordzeil and Cullen finished first and second in the 100-meter hurdles in 14.41 and 14.42, respectively and junior Amber James (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury) placed first in the 200-meter dash in an automatic time of 24.48. In the relay events, Smith, James, sophomore Jessica Allegra (East Hampton, CT/East Hampton) and first-year Aspen James (Woodbury, MN/Woodbury) won the 4x100M, while Amber James, senior Jana Bromell (Spencer, MA/David Prouty), sophomore Tessa Donoghue (Springfield, MA/Cathedral) and freshman Oly Wirtz (Fitchburg, MA/Fitchburg) were victorious in the 4x400M event with an automatic qualifying standard of 3:47.50.

Seven women in addition to Smith posted provisional qualifying times, led by Donoghue, who was second in the long jump (18' 3") and 400-meter dash (57.54). Sophomore Kirsten Larsen (Hampden, MA/Minnechaug Regional) posted a second place finish in the javelin (133' 9"), while freshman Noelle Battista (Warwick, RI/Toll Gate) and senior Kerry Teamey (Klamath Falls, OR/Henley) finished fourth and tied for fifth, respectively in the pole vault. Battista had a collegiate career-high vault of 11' 7 3/4". Junior Kim Spence (Barrington, NH/Dover) and Aspen James rounded out the provisional performances in the meet, as Spence finished fourth in the 400-meter hurdles (1:03.86) and James fifth in the 100-meter dash (12.24).

On the men's side, sophomore Dan Olson (Voorheesville, NY/Albany Academy) once again won the high jump with a leap of 6' 11 1/2", giving the men their only automatic qualification of the day. In addition to the 4x400-meter relay team, two other men scored points on the day. Junior Tyrone McClain (New Haven, CT/Hillhouse) finished third in the 100-meter dash (10.92), while classmate Erik Benson (Southbury, CT/Pomperaug) was seventh in the 200-meter dash (22.20). The 4x400-meter relay team, consisting of McClain, Benson, sophomore Adam Walker (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) and freshman Ajay Sisodia (Andover, MA/Andover), posted a fifth place finish in 3:20.11.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 1/30/07.
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