Lyons bump NEWMAC record to 7-2 on the season

NORTON, Mass.  – The Wheaton College baseball team swept a pair of New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) games from Babson College by scores of 5-0 and 4-3 on Saturday afternoon at Sidell Stadium. 

WHEATON 5, BABSON 0 

Wheaton starter Nick Filloramo (Rochester, Mass./Old Rochester Regional) hurled seven innings, allowing five hits, zero runs, one walk and four strikeouts to push his record to 3-1 on the season. Sophomore Michael Baryski (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) completed the eighth yielding one hit, while freshman Kyle Kasprzyk (East Falmouth, Mass./Falmouth) struck out two out of three hitters in the ninth. 

Babson's Michael Bortolotti (Milton, Mass./Milton) shouldered the loss on five innings, nine hits and five runs (all earned). 

The Lyons claimed an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second as sophomore Justin Silvestro (Waltham, Mass./BC High) scorched a one-out double to right center and later came around to score on an RBI base hit up the middle by senior Kevin Foley (Southbury, Conn./Pomperaug). 

Babson threatened in the top of the third with runners on first and second with one out, but Filloramo worked his way back from a 3-0 count to Chris Warren (Medfield, Mass./Medfield) inducing a fly out to center and ended the frame with a lineout to first. 

Silvestro pushed Wheaton's advantage to 2-0 in the fourth with an RBI single up the middle plating Apolinar De La Cruz (Providence, R.I./Classical) from second base. De La Cruz notched a leadoff single through the left side of the infield and advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch before touching home plate. 

In the fifth, sophomore Matt Lavanchy (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) belted his first home run of the season, a three-run shot just inside the right field foul pole, to give Wheaton a 5-0 lead. 

WHEATON 4, BABSON 3 

Junior reliever Mike Bisceglia (New Boston, N.H./Goffstown) earned the victory on 2 1/3 innings pitched, no hits, zero runs and three strikeouts. Senior closer Ryan Grant (Easton, Mass./Avon Old Farms) notched his seventh save of the season with one walk and a strikeout in the ninth. Junior starter Mike Gibbons (Simsbury, Conn./Avon Old Farms) was handed the no-decision on 5 2/3, four hits, three runs (two earned), no walks and a team-high five strikeouts. 

Senior Derek Richards (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) took the loss on 7 1/3 innings pitched, eight hits, four runs (all earned), one walk and six strikeouts. 

Tied 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth, sophomore Mike Beneduce (North Kingstown, R.I./Moses Brown School) dropped a bunt single in between the pitcher's mound and home plate to score Silvestro from third base for the game-winning run. 

Babson evened the score in the top half of the sixth on a two-run single through the right side of the infield by junior Sean MacPhee (Framingham, Mass./Belmont Hill). 

The Beavers led 1-0 in the third inning as junior Dillon Gonzalez (Beverly, Mass./St. John's Prep) lined an RBI single to center field. Wheaton eventually responded with the game-tying run in the fourth on a run-producing single by Silvestro and an RBI infield single by Justin Peluso (North Reading, Mass./Saint John's Prep) in the fifth. 

Wheaton (17-6-1, 7-2 NEWMAC) takes on Southern Maine tomorrow at home with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. Babson (9-9, 5-4 NEWMAC) hosts Clark University on Tuesday, April 8 for a NEWMAC contest at 3:30 p.m. 

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