Baseball (26-7, 9-3) Clinches Tie of 10th NEWMAC Regular Season Crown in 3-4 Week

The nationally-ranked Wheaton College baseball team went 3-4 last week, clinching a tie of its 10th New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) regular season crown in the league's 11-year history. During the week, the Lyons were ranked third nationally by D3baseball.com and first in the region by the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA). On Monday, Wheaton downed visiting Babson College, 5-4 before falling at 20th-ranked Curry College, 5-0 on Tuesday. The Lyons followed with a 10-7 victory at Roger Williams University on Thursday but fell at Babson, 6-3 on Friday. Wheaton was swept at home by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), 7-3 and 5-4 on Saturday before rolling past regionally-ranked host Keene State College, 19-4 on Sunday. As the second seed in this week's NEWMAC Tournament, the Lyons will host number-five Springfield College on Wednesday in the first round. The second round will occur on Thursday, while the weekend's semifinal and final rounds will take place at the highest seed remaining following Thursday's action.

Wheaton overcame a 3-0 deficit against Babson on Monday, striking for five straight runs. Junior Paul Malaguti (Andover, MA/Andover) was 2-for-3 with two RBI, sophomore Eric Laliberte (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) added a pair of knocks, and freshman Hal Landers (Salem, NH/Salem) swatted a two-run homer. Sophomore Chad Kasik (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) notched the win in relief, while senior Josh Simmons (Cranston, RI/Cranston West) earned a two-inning save.

At Curry, which was not only ranked nationally but also stood fifth in the regional poll, Wheaton was shut out for the first time in 78 games. Freshman Dan Haugh (Andover, MA/Andover) had two hits, while junior Nick Kostaras (North Attleboro, MA/North Attleboro) yielded just one run over seven innings in suffering the hard-luck loss.

The Lyons rallied from a 4-0 hole after one inning with nine straight runs at Roger Williams. Laliberte and Landers each had three hits and two RBI, Malaguti tacked on three hits while scoring twice, and sophomore Sean Munley (Trenton, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton) added three RBI, while he and Haugh homered. Sophomore Kevin Calabro (Andover, MA/Andover) went 5.1 innings for the win, and Simmons worked 1.2 frames for the save, fanning three in the process.

Wheaton couldn't overcome an early 4-0 deficit at Babson during the teams' second meeting of the week. Laliberte, Malaguti and senior Nick Pecora (Highland Park, NJ/Immaculata) each had two hits, while junior Jeff Lieneck (Foxboro, MA/Xaverian Brothers) went deep. Senior Adam Gingras (Woonsocket, RI/Woonsocket) allowed just one earned run in 5.1 innings, striking out four.

In the opener with WPI, the Lyons yielded five unearned runs. Malaguti was 2-for-3 with a run, while Laliberte got plunked twice and picked up an RBI. During the second contest, Munley was 3-for-5 with two RBI, and the hosts scored twice in the bottom of the ninth before leaving the tying run at third.

The Lyons led 17-0 by the fourth inning at Keene State, which was tied for eighth in the NEIBA rankings. Munley was 3-for-3 with five RBI and two runs, Haugh went 3-for-4 with three RBI, and sophomore Tad Skelley (Wolfeboro, NH/Holderness School) added three hits while scoring four times. Classmate Hadi Raad (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY/Hastings) finished 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, freshman Dan Demeo (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) added three hits while scoring twice, and Lieneck totaled two hits, two runs and two RBI. Pecora contributed a pair of knocks while coming home three times, Malaguti was 2-for-3, and freshman John Keating (Duxbury, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon School) had two RBI and walked twice. Kostaras yielded three runs in six innings for the win.

With six sacrifice flies this year, Raad is one shy of the nine-year-old program record. Pecora is tied for third at Wheaton in single-season doubles (16), Simmons is tied for fifth in saves (6), Laliberte and Malaguti are tied for seventh in sac flies (4), while junior Jason Clucas (Peabody, MA/Saint John's Prep) is tied for seventh in sac bunts (7). Munley is eighth in walks (26), Landers is tied for eighth in triples (3) and tied for ninth in stolen bases (13), junior Jon Shepard (Salisbury, MA/Triton Regional) is tied for eighth in pitching appearances (18), and Lieneck is tied for ninth in times hit by a pitch (10).

Lieneck is second in program history with three career grand slams, third in times hit by a pitch (28) and tied for 10th in sacrifice bunts (8), Pecora is tied for sixth in triples (6) and tied for 10th in walks (52), Clucas is eighth in sacrifice bunts (10), and Malaguti is tied for eighth in times hit by a pitch (18) and tied for 10th in sacrifice bunts (8). Simmons is second in pitching appearances (75) and saves (24), senior Jared Barnes (North Attleboro, MA/Bishop Feehan) is fourth in games pitched (58), while classmate Louie Bernardini (Gray, ME/Gray-New Gloucester) is fifth in innings (206.2), sixth in wins (17), tied for sixth in complete games (4), is eighth in strikeouts (131) and stands tied for 10th in pitching appearances (43). Senior Brian Hughes (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) is tied for eighth in appearances (44), while Gingras is tied for ninth in wins (14) and tied for 10th in complete games (3).