HARWICH, MA- The third seeded Wheaton College baseball team continued its march through the NCAA England Regional Tournament loser's bracket on Saturday, emerging victorious in an elimination game for the third straight time as the Lyons posted a 5-3 win over sixth seed Saint Joseph's College while avenging their first-round loss to the Monks at Whitehouse Field. The game was halted in the seventh inning last night after two fog delays.
One of three teams remaining, Wheaton turns right back around to face eighth-seeded Bridgewater State University at 4:00 p.m. for the right to advance to the championship round. Ranked 19th nationally by D3baseball.com and first in the region according to the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA), the Lyons are now 32-11. Saint Joseph's, ranked eighth in the region, completed its season at 32-15.
After taking a 2-0 lead last night, the Blue and White tacked on a third run in the top of the seventh before the Monks stormed back with three eighth-hitting runs. However, Wheaton answered with two runs in the top of the ninth while holding off Saint Joseph's in the home half.
Lyon freshman starter Alec Palioca (Wrentham, MA/King Philip Regional) was motoring through the Monk lineup, facing just two batters over the minimum while giving up three hits with two strikeouts and one walk in six innings. Junior David Longley (Brunswick, ME/Brunswick) hurled a clean seventh before running into trouble in the eighth, while freshman closer Ryan Grant (Easton, CT/Avon Old Farms School) earned the win during his longest outing, fanning three over 1.2 frames.
Sophomore Eric Jensen (Gorham, NH/Gorham) went 4-for-5 with a double for the Lyons, junior Hal Landers (Salem, NH/Salem) batted 2-for-4, while senior Sean Munley (Ewing, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton) drove in two runs. Senior Hadi Raad (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY/Hastings) was 1-for-2 with a two-bagger and two sacrifice hits.
For Saint Joseph's, sophomore Sam Butts (Saco, ME/Thornton Academy) recorded half of his team's six hits, going 3-for-3, while freshman Joe Gruntkosky (Peabody, MA/Peabody) suffered the loss in relief. He gave up two earned runs on three hits while striking out three and fanning one in 2.1 innings.
Wheaton jumped out in front with two runs on three hits to begin the game. Senior Eric Laliberte (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) singled, Jensen doubled, junior Dan Haugh (Andover, MA/Saint John's Prep) was intentionally walked and Munley smacked a two-run single through the right side. The Lyons threatened for more two runners on, but an inning-ending double play allowed the Monks to escape further damage.
Meanwhile, Palioca found his groove early, retiring the first eight batters he faced before yielding a harmless single to center in the third. However, he quickly erased that runner after picking him off at first. Palioca then set down six of his next seven batters, including firing a 1-2-3 fifth.
In the sixth, Jensen and Haugh recorded consecutive singles before advancing a base on a Munley sac bunt. Following an intentional walk that jammed the bags, fog delayed the game for 26 minutes. When play resumed, the Lyons came up empty, as a 1-2-3 double play ended the frame. With one down in the seventh, Raad doubled but that proved to be the night's final batter, as an ensuing fog delay eventually led to a suspended game.
On Saturday, the Lyons picked right up where they left off, as Landers led off with a single that plated Raad for a 3-0 Wheaton lead. Longley entered the game in place of Palioca in the seventh, forcing three ground balls to the left side on just seven pitches. In the eighth, Saint Joseph's used three runs on three hits with two Lyon errors to knot the game. The lead proved to be short-lived, as Wheaton responded with a game-winning sac fly by Laliberte and an insurance run thanks to Jensen's RBI single.