NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College baseball team was swept in a doubleheader by a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) squad for the first time in the league's 11-year history Saturday afternoon, falling to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) by counts of 7-3 and 5-4 at Sidell Stadium, as the Lyons and Engineers share the regular season title.

Wheaton, which has at least shared a NEWMAC regular season crown in 10 of the 11 seasons since 1999, dropped its third straight conference game to fall to 25-7 overall and 9-3 in the league. The Lyons are ranked third in the nation and first in New England. The Engineers improved to 21-9 and 9-3 and will hold down the top seed in next week's NEWMAC Tournament.

In game one, the hosts committed seven errors and trailed 5-0 by the fifth inning. Just two of WPI's seven runs were earned, as its four-run fifth came on three defensive miscues. Junior Joe Walsh (Weymouth, MA/Weymouth) had a two-out, two run single in the frame. The hosts strung together three runs on six hits in the fifth and sixth combined to pull within two before the Engineers tacked on two seventh-inning runs coupled with two more Lyon errors for the final margin.

Junior Paul Malaguti (Andover, MA/Andover) went 2-for-3 for Wheaton, while senior Louie Bernardini (Gray, ME/Gray-New Gloucester) suffered his first loss of the season, yielding just one earned run but walking five and fanning one in four-plus innings. Walsh plated three runs to lead the Engineers, and freshman Sean Minor (Los Angeles, CA/Notre Dame) allowed three earned runs while scattering six hits with two strikeouts and two walks in 5.2 innings of work.

Seven errors were charged in game two, with WPI committing five, but Wheaton trailed 3-0 and 5-1 before rallying late. The visitors scored a pair of unearned runs in the second and were up three by the middle of the third before the Lyons got on the board. Wheaton made it 3-1 with an unearned run of its own in the third, but the Engineers responded in the sixth with a two-run single off the bat of junior Jameson Kokolis (Manchester, NH/Manchester Central).

The Blue and White narrowed the gap to 5-2 with a run in the sixth before rallying in the ninth. After placing two runners on to start the frame, sophomore Sean Munley (Trenton, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton) singled in a run two batters later, leaving two on with one out. The Wheaton runners both moved into scoring position following a wild pitch, and the Lyons used a groundout to short to make it a 5-4 game. However, the Lyons left the tying run at third, as WPI senior Conor Fahey (Cumberland, RI/Cumberland) fanned his final batter during a solid complete-game effort.

Senior Brian Hughes (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) gave up five runs, three earned, on 10 hits with one strikeout and a walk in 5.1 innings. Munley went 3-for-5 with two RBI.

Fahey struck out nine Lyons and issued two walks with no earned runs on eight hits in collecting his fifth win of the spring. WPI racked up 12 hits, led by senior Scott McNee (Falmouth, MA/Falmouth), who went 4-for-5.

Wheaton finishes out the week tomorrow at Keene State College at 3:30 p.m. The Owls are tied for eighth in the region.