PROVIDENCE, RI- The Wheaton College baseball team played in its first extra-inning game since the beginning of the 2009 season on Thursday afternoon at Rhode Island College, as the Lyons edged the hosts by a 12-9 count in 10 innings at Anchorman Field.
Improving to 23-0 when scoring at least six runs, Wheaton, which is ranked 16th nationally by D3baseball.com and first in the region by the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA), won for the 25th time in 29 games in upping its record to 29-8. Rhode Island College fell to 15-18.
The visitors pounded out 21 hits, as the team combined to hit .447. Senior Eric Laliberte (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) led seven multiple hitters, going 4-for-6 with four RBI and two runs. Sophomore Eric Jensen (Gorham, NH/Gorham) also was 4-for-6 with two runs and an RBI, junior Dan Haugh (Andover, MA/Saint John's Prep) batted 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run, and senior Tad Skelley (Wolfeboro, NH/Holderness School) had three hits to go alongside a run.
Junior Hal Landers (Salem, NH/Salem) went 2-for-3 with four runs, two walks and an RBI from his leadoff spot, while sophomore Dan Gusovsky (Andover, MA/Andover) came away with two hits and a run after entering the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh. Senior Sean Munley (Ewing, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton) also recorded two hits.
Freshman Alec Palioca (Wrentham, MA/King Philip Regional) was in line for the victory after leaving the game with his team leading 9-5 after six but settled for no decision due to the Anchormen knotting the score in the seventh. Junior David Longley (Brunswick, ME/Brunswick) earned the win in relief, firing a pair of 1-2-3 frames in the eighth and ninth before freshman Ryan Grant (Easton, MA/Avon Old Farms School) collected his ninth save of the campaign after tossing a shutout 10th.
Rhode Island College junior Brent Hopkins (Cranston, RI/La Salle) went 2-for-4 with three RBI, senior Ronnie Bracchi (Wappingers Falls, NY/Roy C. Ketcham) knocked in two runs, and junior Mike DeWald (Hope Valley, RI/Chariho) took the loss, giving up three earned runs on five hits in two innings.
In a wild first inning, a combined seven runs, six hits and three errors led to a 4-3 Anchorman lead. The hosts went ahead 5-3 with a run in the third before Wheaton rallied for three runs with two away in the fourth to take a 6-5 edge. Landers doubled home a run before Laliberte brought two around with his base knock. A fifth-inning run coupled with Laliberte's two-run blast the following frame provided the Lyons with a 9-5 advantage after six.
Rhode Island College took advantage of four walks and a single to lead off the seventh. Scoring two runs in that sequence, the Anchormen tacked on two more thanks to a sacrifice fly and a fielder's choice to even the score, which stood up until the 10th. Following a strikeout to start the 10th, Wheaton used Gusovsky and Laliberte singles that were sandwiched around a Landers walk to jam the sacks. Jensen's ensuing single proved to be the game-winning hit, while Haugh's knock and a bases-loaded walk completed the scoring.
The Lyons have arranged to play New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) foe Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in a non-league home game tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. It will mark the sixth meeting of the season between the teams, as the Engineers won the first three in the regular season before Wheaton emerged victorious two times in the conference tournament.