Athletics > Weekly Lyon > 2005--06 > April 3, 2006
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Baseball (12-6, 3-1) Runs Winning Streak to Five During Perfect Week
The Wheaton College baseball team went 5-0 last week, as the Lyons posted a 1.05 earned run average during their longest string of success since a pair of five-game runs last April. Wheaton downed Brandeis University, 5-4 on Tuesday before knocking off the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, 5-1 on Thursday and Endicott College, 6-5 on Friday. The Blue and White's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) doubleheader at Springfield College was split into a two-game series between Saturday and Sunday, as the Lyons won game one, 7-1 and game two, 2-1. Wheaton's second win against the Pride was its sixth by one run this season, matching the total from last year.
Senior Mark Brown (Chelmsford, MA/Chelmsford) singled home the winning run as the Lyons scored three times in the ninth inning of a one-run victory at Brandeis. Brown plated the first run of the game in the second, bringing home sophomore Pat O'Connor (Mattapoisett, MA/Old Rochester Regional) on a sacrifice fly. The Judges responded with two runs later in the frame and carried a 4-2 lead into the ninth. Sophomore Scott Guillerault's (South Portland, ME/South Portland) RBI double brought the Lyons within 4-3, O'Connor's run-scoring groundout tied the contest, and Brown drove home the game-winner with one down. Senior Chris Martin (Marshfield, MA/Marshfield) received a no-decision despite allowing only two earned runs while striking out six in seven innings. Senior Jamie Baker (Boxford, MA/Masconomet Regional) snagged the win following a pair of no-hit innings in relief. Wheaton had five players with two hits apiece, paced by O'Connor's 2-for-4 showing with two doubles and two RBI. Brown finished 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Sophomore Josh Moore (Manchester, NH/Manchester Memorial) tossed seven scoreless innings and O'Connor drove in three runs to lead Wheaton past host UMass-Dartmouth. O'Connor and senior Mark Baumer (Durham, ME/Greely) each knocked in a run during the first inning before Guillerault and O'Connor drew consecutive bases-loaded walks to give the visitors a 4-0 advantage in the fifth. Moore yielded three hits and one walk while fanning seven, and freshman Josh Simmons (Cranston, RI/Cranston West) notched the save after getting the last out of the eighth, having entered a 5-1 game with two runners on and the tying run on deck, and pitching a scoreless ninth. Junior Brandon Leonard (Brockton, MA/Brockton) went 3-for-5 with two runs and a double, while Baumer and junior Adam Laplante (Harwich, MA/Harwich) each went 2-for-4.
During the Lyons' win over visiting Endicott, O'Connor scored the game-winning run on a two-out error in the bottom of the ninth inning during Wheaton's only contest at Sidell Stadium last week. With the Lyons down, 3-2 in the sixth, Baumer knotted the score with his first home run of the season. Each team plated a pair of two-out runs in the eighth, as sophomore Jake Yagjian (Brewster, ME/Nauset Regional) grounded out to score Brown and junior Jeff Martin (Marblehead, MA/Marblehead) smacked a pinch-hit double to once again bring the Lyons even. With two down in the ninth, O'Connor and Baumer singled to put runners on the corners. During the ensuing at bat, Baumer took off for second and an errant infield throw allowed O'Connor to cross home plate with the winning run. Junior Joe White (Bedford, NH/Manchester West) pitched well in eight innings, striking out nine, walking three, yielding five hits and surrendering all five runs, but only one earned. Baker picked up the victory after pitching a perfect ninth inning. Baumer went 3-for-5 with two RBI and Yagjian was 2-for-4.
Wheaton's originally-scheduled doubleheader at Springfield was played over two days due to inclement weather following Saturday's first game, and the Lyons' contest versus the University of Southern Maine slated for Sunday was postponed. During game one, Wheaton launched a home run in each of the first three innings, marking the sixth time since 2001 the Lyons hit three or more long balls in one game. Guillerault, Laplante and Baumer each provided dingers, with Guillerault bringing two home and Baumer moving into a tie for sixth in program history with 13 career homers. Baumer finished 3-for-4, Laplante went 2-for-2 with two RBI, two runs and two walks, while Yagjian and senior Andrew Koocher (Portland, ME/Portland) each had two hits. Sophomore Chris McDonough (Weymouth, MA/Weymouth) yielded only two hits during the seven-inning affair, setting down the side in order in each the second, third, fourth and sixth innings. He fanned four and did not issue a walk. During Sunday's finale, sophomore Louie Bernardini (Gray, ME/Gray-New Gloucester) struck out a career-high eight batters, while Baumer twice drove home O'Connor. After Springfield took a 1-0 lead during the first, Baumer plated O'Connor in the second and doubled him home in the fourth inning. Springfield squandered two-on, one-out opportunities in both the eighth and ninth innings, with Baker coming on in the ninth and fanning the final two batters he faced for his third save. Bernardini retired 12 straight batters at one point and allowed only five hits and one walk in eight innings.
Men's Lacrosse (2-4-1, 0-1) Captures Overtime Thriller During Only Action of Week
The Wheaton College men's lacrosse team captured a 10-9 overtime victory against Plymouth State University on Tuesday during its only contest last week, as senior Taylor Jackson (Middlesex, VT/Union 32) tallied 1:17 into the extra session at Mirrione Stadium. After winning only twice by a single tally between the 2002 and 2005 seasons, Wheaton's victory over Plymouth State was its second by one goal this season. The Lyons have already played three overtime games this spring after experiencing as many extra-session contests between 1994 and 2005, with the most recent coming in 1999. Wheaton had not won an overtime contest since March 27, 1994 and had never won in sudden death on Mirrione Stadium turf.
Wheaton trailed, 5-4 at halftime and 8-5 entering the fourth quarter before reeling off four consecutive goals over a 6:16 span, capped by Jackson's go-ahead tally with 2:47 remaining in regulation. Junior Andrew Rohan (South Hadley, MA/Avon Old Farms) began the fourth quarter by scoring off an assist from senior Adam Cohen (Montpelier, VT/Montpelier) on a fast break before sophomore Richie Rasamny (Redding, CT/Joel Barlow) and junior Markus Ricci (Wayland, MA/Wayland) tallied the next two markers, with Ricci knotting the score. However, Plymouth State tied the game with 15.4 seconds left to force the extra session. Five different Lyons led the team with two points, with Jackson, Rasamny and senior Ellis Reavey (Longmeadow, MA/Longmeadow) each scoring two goals and Cohen and junior Larry Nussbaum (Glastonbury, CT/Avon Old Farms) finishing with a goal and assist. Sophomore Jeremy Beech (West Newbury, MA/Governor Dummer Academy) made 11 saves.
Women's Lacrosse (4-3, 2-0) Climbs Over .500 with 2-1 Week, Coit Nets 100th Goal
The Wheaton College women's lacrosse team won two of three games last week, losing only to a nationally-ranked foe. The Lyons downed host Bridgewater State College, 13-4 on Monday as senior Julia Coit (South Portland, ME/South Portland) became the ninth player in program history to collect 100 career goals. After suffering an 11-4 loss to sixth-ranked Bowdoin College on Wednesday, the Blue and White responded with a 15-6 win over visiting Mount Holyoke College in conference play Saturday.
At Bridgewater State, sophomore Meredith Hurd (Bath, ME/Hyde School) tallied four times and Coit notched a hat trick for the Lyons' second win in as many days. Wheaton netted the first nine goals of the contest, as Coit put the Lyons on the board after just 1:34 with her 100th tally. Hurd completed a hat trick by the 12:17 mark and Coit recorded her third goal with 9:31 remaining in the opening half. The Lyons outscored Bridgewater State, 4-3 in the second half en route to the victory, as four different players scored during the period. Sophomore Alexa Jurczak (Davidsonville, MD/Miss Porter's School) finished with two goals and an assist, while classmate Sara Dimick (Cumberland, ME/Greely) added a pair of tallies. Junior Kristin Konig (Montecito, CA/Cate School) recorded the win while making five saves in nearly 40 minutes and classmate Mary Catherine Boll (Columbus, IN/Miss Porter's School) stopped three shots in relief. The Lyons held a 35-14 advantage in shots.
During the Lyons' home opener against undefeated Bowdoin, Wheaton took an early lead and trailed by just one goal early in the second half before seeing the Polar Bears rattle off the final six goals. The Lyons scored the game's first two goals during a 2:03 span, as Hurd and Dimick tallied to put the hosts up, 2-0 by 22:51. After Bowdoin knotted the game at 18:31, Hurd scored at 10:06 to give the Lyons a 3-2 lead, but Bowdoin responded with a goal 56 seconds later and netted the go-ahead tally with five minutes remaining in the half. Bowdoin's 4-3 halftime edge was its narrowest of the season. The Polar Bears scored five minutes into the second half before Coit scored 26 ticks later to pull the Lyons within one, but Bowdoin pulled away by scoring the game's last six goals, including five within a 4:19 span. Hurd scored twice and Konig recorded 28 saves, the most by a Wheaton goaltender since 1999.
Wheaton broke open a one-goal game with six straight markers against Mount Holyoke. Behind three consecutive goals, including two by Coit, Wheaton held a 4-1 lead by 20:37 of the opening half before Mount Holyoke rallied to within 4-3. However, the Blue and White rattled off 11 of the game's final 14 goals, including the next six over a 16:50 span that stretched into the second half. Coit scored four times, Jurczak three times, and Dimick, Hurd and senior Caitlin Tierney (Wellesley, MA/The Rivers School) twice apiece. Freshmen Bridget Thornton (Southington, CT/Cheshire Academy) and Madeline Williams (Annapolis, MD/Key School) each scored once and Konig made 13 saves.
Coit Earns NEWMAC Player-of-the-Week Honor
Coit was named NEWMAC Player of the Week for the week ending on Sunday, March 26. The co-captain led Wheaton with a game-high five goals and one assist during a 15-3 victory over Smith in the Lyons' conference opener on March 26. Entering the week, Coit paced the NEWMAC's second-best offense with 15 goals and 18 points, placing in the top 10 in the league for each category.
Softball (13-7, 2-2) Suffers Four Losses During Winless Showing
The nationally-ranked Wheaton College softball team went 0-4 last week, which began as the Lyons dropped both ends of a twinbill against visiting Rhode Island College, 5-2 in nine innings and 7-3 on Tuesday. Over the weekend, Wheaton's NEWMAC doubleheader at Springfield College was split between two days due to inclement weather, and the Lyons fell, 9-4 on Saturday and 4-1 on Sunday. Wheaton was ranked 12th in last week's National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) poll.
On Tuesday, junior Nicole Lachance (Rochester, NH/Spaulding) blasted her first collegiate home run to give the Lyons a 2-0 lead in the third inning of game one, but the Anchorwomen scored twice with one down in the top of the following inning. Sophomore Audrey Poulton (Charlestown, RI/Chariho Regional) held Rhode Island College hitless from the fifth through eighth innings, setting down 12 of 14 batters, before the visitors tallied three runs on one hit and two errors in the ninth inning. The Lyons put runners on first and third with one down in the bottom of the inning but came away empty. Poulton pitched all nine innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits while fanning six and walking three batters. During the second contest, Rhode Island College plated five runs on five hits and two errors during the fourth inning to break open a scoreless game. The Lyons began to erase a 7-0 deficit with three runs in the sixth, as freshman Emily Hildreth (Reading, MA/Reading Memorial) cracked a two-run double before Poulton plated Hildreth with a two-out, pinch-hit single, but Wheaton went down in order in the seventh. Hildreth and freshman Brady Benton (Concord, NH/Concord) each finished 2-for-3, while sophomore Jodi Moynagh (Worcester, MA/Holy Name Central Catholic) suffered the loss after allowing three earned runs on 11 hits while striking out five and walking one.
In Saturday's contest against Springfield, Lachance led off the contest with another home run, but the Pride knotted the score later in the inning and tallied five runs in the second on one hit and an error that led to four unearned runs. Wheaton cut its deficit to 6-3 by scoring twice on wild pitches in the third, but Springfield scored three of the game's final four runs, all three of which were unearned. Lachance finished 2-for-3 with a double and the home run, while junior Jessica DePolito (Taunton, MA/Coyle and Cassidy) went 2-for-4. Poulton picked up the loss after yielding seven runs, two of which were earned, on six hits and three walks in four innings. During Sunday's series finale, the Lyons took a 1-0 lead when freshman Lynn Cotto (Brookfield, CT/Brookfield) doubled home sophomore pinch-runner Abby Taylor (Wellesley, MA/Wellesley) with one down in the top of the fourth, but Springfield responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning and two more in the sixth. In the seventh, freshman Jessica DeRico (Griswold, CT/Griswold) drew a two-out walk before Poulton smacked a pinch-hit single, but the potential tying run was retired to end the contest. Seven different Wheaton players finished with one hit apiece, while Moynagh received the loss after yielding four earned runs on nine hits in a complete-game effort, during which she fanned six and walked two.
Men's Tennis (5-2, 1-0) Nabs Pair of Wins, Downs Clark in NEWMAC Opener
The Wheaton College men's tennis team went 2-0 last week, grinding out a 4-3 win over visiting Bowdoin College during a contest between regionally-ranked teams before downing Clark University, 7-0 in the Lyons' NEWMAC opener on the Clark Tennis Courts.
Against Bowdoin, which is ranked seventh in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) New England poll, the ninth-ranked Lyons clinched victory when their first doubles tandem of junior Payum Payman (Pleasant Valley, NY/Arlington) and sophomore Sean Daly (Miami, FL/LaSalle) picked up a 9-8 victory in a tiebreaker. The match began outdoors on the Clark Tennis Courts, and Bowdoin got out to a quick 3-0 lead during singles, but the Lyons rallied thanks to wins by senior Matt Sheers (Beacon, NY/Beacon) and junior Brad Dressler (Cranston, RI/Cranston West), and Payman knotted the score with a 7-5, 7-6 win at number one, earning the victory in a second-set tiebreaker. The teams moved indoors to Beard Field House for doubles play, and Sheers and senior Nick Potter (Concord, NH/Concord) corralled an 8-4 victory at third doubles, necessitating the Lyons win one of the two remaining matches to seal the victory. After Bowdoin won at number two, Daly served the winning point during the tiebreaker to clinch Wheaton's overall victory.
For the fourth straight season, Wheaton swept the Cougars. Daly, junior Brian Danishevsky (Hamden, CT/Hamden Hall Country Day School), Sheers, Dressler, Potter and senior Mike Moss (Needham, MA/Needham) won at first through sixth singles, respectively, while Potter and Payman combined for a win at first doubles, Danishevsky and Dressler were victorious at number two, and senior Jeff Selesnick (Concord, NH/Concord) and junior Raymour Radhakrishnan (Amherst, NH/Bridgton Academy) rounded out the win at third doubles.
Women's Tennis (7-6) Returns to Action By Hosting Wheaton Invitational
The Wheaton College women's tennis team returned to action for the first time since October 22 by hosting the Wheaton Invitational Sunday on the Clark Tennis Courts, where freshman Meghan Doyle (Hingham, MA/Hingham) won the top singles flight. Competitors from Roger Williams University, Salve Regina University and Division I College of the Holy Cross also participated in the event.
The Lyons placed two singles players and two doubles teams in the tournament, with Doyle achieving the most success. Doyle didn't drop a set as she rolled through the top draw, picking up a 6-1, 6-3 win in her first match and then nearly blanking her finals opponent, 6-0, 6-1. Sophomore Briana Jackson (Redding, CT/Joel Barlow) competed in the second singles flight but fell in the opening round to the eventual winner from Salve Regina. In doubles play, sophomore Maya Milic-Strkalj (Philadelphia, PA/Friends' Central School) and freshman Mallory Farmer (Washington, CT/The Gunnery) suffered a loss in the top flight, while junior Jessica Otto (Atlantic, IA/Atlantic) and freshman Oriana Federico (Andover, MA/Lawrence Academy) fell in second doubles.
Pair Wins 5,000-Meter Events During Men's and Women's Track and Field Competition
The Wheaton College men's and women's outdoor track and field teams competed at Tufts University's Snowflake Classic Saturday, as senior Kendra Leith (Holden, MA/Wachusett Regional) and sophomore Pat Benson (Foxboro, MA/Bishop Feehan) won the women's and men's 5,000-meter events, respectively. The Lyon women were sixth of 16 teams, while the men placed ninth among 17.
Leith paced the 5,000-meter field in a time of 18:02.26, while sophomore Megan Brousseau (Attleboro, MA/Attleboro) placed third, and freshmen Amanda Rawson (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) and Lauren Reddy (Walnut Creek, CA/Carondelet) and junior Jennifer Ziello (Litchfield, CT/Litchfield) finished eighth through 10th, respectively. Wheaton's 4x400-meter relay foursome, comprised of freshmen Lily Calderwood (Harvard, MA/Bromfield School), Natana Jules (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls), Celeste Karpow (Wilton, CT/Wilton) and Emily Piuggi (West Windsor, NJ/West Windsor-Plainsboro South), placed second, just 3.14 seconds behind the winning quartet. Another pair of freshmen found success in track events, as Samira Sanders (Brooklyn, NY/Boys and Girls) placed sixth in the 100-meter finals and Morgan Jamiel (Warwick, RI/Toll Gate) missed out on qualifying for the 100-meter hurdles finals by 0.14 seconds. Sophomore Cassandra Migani (Brooklyn, CT/Norwich Free Academy) turned in a pair of top-five finishes during field events, placing second in the javelin and fifth in the discus. Junior Katelyn Teixeira (Seekonk, MA/Seekonk) finished fourth in the javelin, while freshman Alexis Tabor (Seekonk, MA/Moses Brown School) was sixth.
On the men's side, Benson completed the 5,000-meter run in 15:46.18, while senior Eric Richardson (East Walpole, MA/Bishop Feehan) came in fifth and junior Eric Peirce (Lincoln, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) turned in a ninth-place showing. Freshman Jonathan Cunha (Lexington, MA/Lexington) used a third-place finish in 15.24 during the preliminaries of the 110-meter hurdles to qualify for the finals, where he finished second in a time of 14.95, just 0.01 seconds off a seven-year-old school record. Cunha was also 0.04 behind the top finisher. Classmate Albi Skenderi (Glendale, NY/Grover Cleveland) also qualified for the 110M hurdles finals, placing seventh. Senior Ajay Sisodia (Andover, MA/Andover) and freshman Victor Martinez (Exeter, NH/Phillips Exeter Academy) each made the 100-meter dash finals, where Sisodia placed third and Martinez eighth. During the 4x400-meter relay, the foursome of seniors Ryan English (New Hartford, CT/Northwestern Regional) and Ross Kahill (South Portland, ME/South Portland), junior Mark Tabah (Rolling Hills, CA/Palos Verdes Peninsula) and freshman Brian Dundon (Mansfield, MA/Mansfield) placed fifth.
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