NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College baseball team saw its six-game winning streak come to an end against visiting non-conference foe Roger Williams University on Thursday, as the Lyons yielded a five-run fifth inning before suffering their first home loss by a 6-3 count at Sidell Stadium.
Receiving votes in this week's D3baseball.com national poll while ranking sixth in the region by the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA), Wheaton fell to 19-7, as the Blue and White lost for just the third time in 18 games. The Hawks reached the .500 mark at 15-15.
Junior Hal Landers (Salem, NH/Salem) recorded three of the hosts' eight hits, while senior Tad Skelley (Wolfeboro, NH/Holderness School) went 2-for-3 with two runs and a stolen base.
Freshman righty Nick Filloramo (Rochester, MA/Old Rochester Regional) picked up his first loss of the season, allowing three earned runs on six hits while fanning two and walking one in 4.2 innings. Sophomore relievers Justin Dickinson (Stratford, CT/Bunnell) and Jordan Wylie (Plymouth, MA/Avon Old Farms School) each went 1.1 innings, with Dickinson fanning two and Wylie striking out three, while senior D.J. McGee (Worcester, MA/Saint Peter-Marian) retired the five batters he faced over the last 1.2 frames.
Sophomore John Oppenhimer (Westport, CT/Staples) led the Hawks with two hits and a pair of RBI, freshman Mike Pascarella (Milford, CT/Joseph A. Foran) had two hits and two runs, while classmate Chris Ford (Plainville, MA/Mount Saint Charles Academy) plated two. Sophomore Chris Anderson (Westerly, RI/Westerly) earned the win in relief after firing four shutout innings of three-hit ball with three strikeouts. Freshman Tyler Pogmore (Lebanon, CT/Lyman Memorial) earned his fourth save.
The Hawks struck first in the opening frame, with Pascarella doubling, moving to third on a wild pitch and scoring on an Oppenhimer RBI single. Wheaton came back and regained the lead in the third, scoring two unearned runs. After reaching base on an infield error, Skelley eventually scored the first run on a single from senior Eric Laliberte (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin). Laliberte was plated two batters later when junior Dan Haugh (Andover, MA/Saint John's Prep) hit an RBI base knock. The Lyons made the score 3-1 an inning later when Landers singled home Skelley.
Roger Williams rallied for its five runs in the fifth with two out. Pascarella singled home sophomore Matt Swensen (Charlton, MA/St. John's), who reached first after being struck in the numbers at the plate. Oppenhimer's RBI single tied the game at three before an error brought around what proved to be the game-winning run. Ford's two-RBI single made the score 6-3.
Wheaton placed runners on second and third with two down in the sixth before a groundout thwarted the threat. The Lyons had two hits in the eighth but couldn't get past first base, as the leadoff hitter singled before being thrown out at second. Wheaton put two more runners in scoring position in the ninth, but a groundout to the shortstop ended the game.
The Lyons head to Worcester tomorrow to face New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) foe Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) at College of the Holy Cross at 4:00 p.m.