Northboro, MA --- Junior Nick Raposo (Johnston, RI) capped an eight-run Wheaton outburst in the top of the 11th as the Lyons outlasted host WPI, 16-14, Tuesday afternoon at the New England Baseball Complex.
Wheaton, the 17th-ranked team in the latest D3baseball.com Top 25, improves to 23-6 overall and 13-1 in NEWMAC competition while the Engineers move to 20-11 and 6-6.
WPI trailed 7-5 heading into the bottom of the seventh where senior Steven Gallagher (Coventry, RI) evened the score with a two-out, two-run double to center. It remained 7-7 until Wheaton freshman Zach Demattio (North Attleboro, MA) and WPI junior David Larson (Port Tobacco, MD) traded home runs in the 10th.
The Lyons then exploded for eight beginning with a two-run homer by senior Jared Sharkey (West Bridgewater, MA). Three batters later, sophomore George Mulcahey (Brooklyn, NY) doubled in two more. Senior Willy Boyd (Orleans, MA) and sophomore Brody Ashley (Strafford, NH) each followed with an RBI double before Raposo made it 16-8 with a two-run single.
Not going away quietly, freshman Martin McCormack (Quincy, MA) singled in a run before sophomore Jordan DeDonato (Danvers, MA) lifted a sacrifice fly to right. With two outs, graduate student Matt Howard (Worcester, MA) pushed a run across with a single. After a walk and hit-by-pitch, senior Josh Herlands (Glastonbury, CT) cleared the bases to get the Engineers within two. The game then concluded on a swinging strikeout.
Mulcahey put the Lyons on the board with a two-run single in the second. Freshman Stephen Quigley (Halifax, MA) scampered home on a wild pitch, Raposo singled in a run and Sharkey plated a pair with a ground-rule double as Wheaton added four more in the third.
WPI then cut the deficit in half with a three-run blast by DeDonato in the home half of the inning. Quigley once again touched home on a wild pitch, this time in the fourth to give Wheaton the 7-3 advantage. DeDonato doubled and Howard singled on consecutive RBI at-bats to chase the Lyons starter with one out in the bottom of the fifth.
DeDonato (double, home run, 5 RBI, 3 runs), Howard (2 RBI), Larson (home run) and McCormack all registered a pair of hits as Herlands and Gallagher combined for five RBI. Freshman Michael Fraser (Mashpee, MA) also doubled for the home team. Senior Tyler Weiss (Monroe, CT) struck out four in five scoreless innings but Kyle Wood (Hauppauge, NY) was saddled with the decision for the Engineers.
Mulcahey (double, four RBI) and Sharkey (double, home run, four RBI) each collected four hits while freshman Jacob Studley (Barrington, RI) chipped in with three, including a double, and scored three times. Raposo (3 RBI, 2 stolen bases), Demattio (home run) and Quigley all registered a pair of hits as Ashley and Boyd each delivered a double. Freshman Zach Clesas (Johnston, RI) picked up the win after sophomore Gavin Reily (Bridgewater, MA) struck out a team-best three batters in the start. In all, the Lyons staff set down 10 Engineers via the strikeout.
WPI travels to MIT tomorrow for a 3:30pm first pitch while Wheaton heads to Amherst for a 4pm start.