PHOENIX, AZ- The Wheaton College baseball team extended its winning streak to six games following Saturday's 8-2 triumph over Western New England College, as freshman Dan Haugh (Andover, MA/Saint John's Prep) continued to have a hot bat with his fourth home run in eight games.

The Lyons, who are ranked 23rd nationally according to the most recent D3baseball.com poll, improved to 7-1, while the Golden Bears fell to 0-2.

The Wheaton offense used timely hitting and great execution in plating a run in each of the first three innings. In the first, sophomore Eric Laliberte (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) led things off with a single, advanced to second on a passed ball and moved to third on a fly out to right by senior Nick Pecora (Highland Park, NJ/Immaculata) before scoring on a defensive miscue.

After junior Paul Malaguti (Andover, MA/Andover) launched a solo home run over the right-center field fence in the second, Laliberte was at it again in the third, this time drawing a walk and stealing a base to begin the frame. Pecora pushed Laliberte over a bag on a grounder to second before junior Jeff Lieneck's (Foxboro, MA/Xaverian Brothers) sacrifice bunt back to the pitcher brought Laliberte home on a successful squeeze play.

Wheaton's defense and pitching were also solid, as the Lyons turned a school-record-tying five double plays through the first eight innings. Senior southpaw Brian Hughes (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) tossed six scoreless innings, scattering five hits while fanning one batter and issuing one walk to record his first victory of the season.

The Blue and White began to pull away in the sixth, as Lieneck's leadoff single through the left side started the rally. Two batters later, Haugh drove an opposite-field home run to right center for a 5-0 Lyon advantage. Wheaton tacked on three insurance runs in the seventh, with Lieneck, Malaguti and sophomore Sean Munley (Trenton, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton) having an RBI apiece. The Golden Bears completed the scoring with a pair of unearned runs in the ninth.

Three Wheaton pitchers tossed an inning of relief apiece, with junior Jon Shepard (Salisbury, MA/Triton Regional) striking out three batters in the ninth. Senior Jared Barnes (North Attleboro, MA/Bishop Feehan) fired a scoreless seventh.

Offensively, Lieneck went 2-for-3 with two RBI, a pair of runs and a steal, while Haugh and Malaguti each batted 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run. Laliberte scored three times, swiped a bag and drew a walk.

Wheaton closes its 10-game spring trip with tomorrow's twinbill against Roger Williams University and William Paterson University. The Lyons take on the Hawks at 10:00 a.m. and the Pioneers at 1:30 p.m.