Lavanchy hits .429 with three RBI's in two games
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Wheaton College baseball team, ranked no.12 overall in the latest D3baseball.com national poll, split a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) doubleheader against Springfield College by scores of 3-1 and 4-0 on Saturday evening at Berry-Allen Field.
Springfield 3, Wheaton 1 (seven innings)
Sophomore Oliver Collette (Spencer, Mass./St. John's) went all seven innings for the Pride yielding one run (earned) on five hits, one walk and a game-high five strikeouts to bump his record to 5-0 overall on the season.
Wheaton senior right-hander Corey Laliberte (Fall River, Mass./B.M.C. Durfee High School) was handed the loss on five-and-one-thirds innings pitched, seven hits, three runs (all earned), four walks and three strikeouts. Sophomore Mike Bisceglia (New Boston, N.H./Goffstown) completed the final two outs for the Lyons with one punchout.
Scoreless until the bottom of the third inning, Springfield broke out for three runs on two hits, no errors and two runners left on base. Junior Frank Calabrese (East Longmeadow, Mass./East Longmeadow) worked a bases loaded walk and classmate Mike McGowan (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) notched a two-run single to center field for the 3-0 advantage.
The Lyons answered in the fourth as senior Dan Gusovsky (Andover, Mass./Andover) drove in classmate Eric Jensen (Gorham, N.H./Gorham) with a base knock to center field. Jensen kept the inning alive with a two-out single to center and advanced to second on a wild pitch before scoring.
In the fifth, Collette escaped a bases loaded jam with two outs as Wheaton grounded into a 4-6-3 inning ending double play. Collette retired the side in order for the remainder of the contest fanning two hitters, inducing three ground outs and one fly out.
Wheaton 4, Springfield 0
Junior right-handed pitcher Nick Filloramo (Rochester, Mass./Old Rochester Regional) evened his record to 3-3 overall on the season spraying six hits over seven shutout innings. Filloramo did not issue a walk and also added two strikeouts. Freshman Eric Dumas (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) whiffed two batters in the eighth and junior closer Ryan Grant (Easton, Mass./Avon Old Farms) allowed one hit in the ninth.
Ahead 1-0 in the top of the sixth, freshman Matt Lavanchy (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) knocked home senior Sean Ryan (Norton, Mass./Norton) with a single to center field. Lavanchy added to the Lyons gap in the eighth with a two-run double to right-center field scoring Jensen and sophomore Apolinar De la Cruz (Providence, R.I./Classical).
Filloramo only allowed two runners to reach scoring position in his outing, induced one double play in the fifth and recorded four 1-2-3 innings. Dumas struck out two of three batters he faced in the eighth looking. With runners on first and third and two outs in the ninth, Grant preserved the shutout with a line out to freshman Mike Beneduce (North Kingstown, R.I./Moses Brown School) at third base.
Wheaton (20-7, 12-2 NEWMAC), who has now won 20 or more games in 16-straight seasons, hosts Springfield (10-13, 7-9 NEWMAC) tomorrow afternoon at Sidell Stadium at 1 p.m. The Lyons will be hosting their White Ribbon Day Campaign on Sunday as part of NCAA Division III Week. For more information on the event click here: White Ribbon Day Campaign.