De la Cruz plates lone run for Lyons

AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Wheaton College baseball team, ranked no.1 overall in the latest D3baseball.com national poll, fell to no.20 Webster University, 10-1, in non-conference action on Sunday night at Lake Myrtle Park. 

Senior right-handed pitcher Steven Dooley (Oran, Mo./Florissant Valley CC) went the distance for the Gorloks giving up one run (unearned) on five hits, zero walks and five strikeouts. 

Junior Alec Palioca (Wrentham, Mass./King Philip Regional) took the loss on six innings pitched, ten hits, three runs (all earned), one walk and three punchouts. 

Webster University senior designated hitter Mike Rainbolt (Kankakee, Ill./Kankakee CC) gave the Gorlocks an early 1-0 lead in the third with a two-out single down the right field line. Junior second baseman Taylor Stoulp (St. Louis, Mo./St. Mary's) and classmateBrett Buchanan (Villa Park, Ill./Willowbrook) both notched singles before Rainbolt came to the plate to set up the scoring. 

Buchanan added an RBI base knock to right field in the fifth for a 2-0 advantage and junior left fielder Corey Lasky (Vernon Hills, Ill./College of Lake County) plated a run with a groundout to second base for a 3-0 gap in the sixth. Rainbolt picked up another RBI in the seventh as he drove in Buchanan from third base with a single through the left side of the infield. 

Wheaton cut its deficit to 4-1 in the bottom half of the inning as sophomore first baseman Apolinar De la Cruz (Providence, R.I./Classical) ripped a single to left field, advanced to second on a groundout and scored on a throwing error. 

The Gorlocks opened up the game in the eighth with five runs on four hits, no errors and two runners left on base. Buchanan had an RBI single to right field, Rainbolt smacked a two-run double to right-center field and senior third baseman Mitchell Bonds (Decatur, Ill./Kankakee CC) punched a two-run single up the middle to cap the scoring in the frame. 

Rainbolt went 4-for-6 with one run scored and five RBI's while Buchanan was 3-for-5 with two runs scored, two RBI's and a walk. Stoulp scored a game-high three runs reaching base with two singles and a walk. 

Wheaton (3-1, 0-0 NEWMAC) returns to action tomorrow against St. Joseph's (Maine), ranked no.12 overall, at Warner University in Lake Wales, Fla. at 1:00 p.m. Webster (3-4, 0-0 SLIAC) takes on no.4-ranked SUNY-Cortland tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. in Auburndale, Fla.