Lyons' bullpen throws 3.2 innings of scoreless relief
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Wheaton College, ranked no.1 in both the NCBWA/D3baseball.com and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper national preseason polls, earned a 3-1 victory over Farmingdale State College in non-conference action on Sunday afternoon.
Junior right-handed pitcher Alec Palioca (Wrentham, Mass./King Philip) fanned five batters in five-and-one-thirds innings, gave up five hits, one run (earned) and three walks for the win. Senior reliever Corey Laliberte (Fall River, Mass./B.M.C. Durfee) shutout the Rams over the next inning and two-thirds before handing the ball over to freshman right-handerEric Dumas (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) for a pair of outs. Junior closer Ryan Grant (Easton, Mass./Avon Old Farms School) recorded his first save of the season inducing two flyouts and two groundouts to go along with one walk.
Farmingdale State junior right-hander Matthew DeRamo (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) was dealt the loss on three innings pitched, six hits, two runs (both earned) and one free pass. Freshman right-handed pitcher Alex Weingarten (East Rockaway, N.Y./Lynbrook) yielded one run on three hits in one-and-two-thirds innings of relief.
The Rams opened up the scoring in the bottom of the first inning with three-straight singles, all coming with two outs. Sophomore shortstop Anthony Alvino (Lindenhurst, N.Y./St. Anthony's) singled to left field with a 2-2 count at the plate, freshman designated hitterDalton McCarthy (Manorville, N.Y./Delaware) followed with a base knock to right center and senior Terrence Bohonan (Patchogue, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) plated Alvino from second base with a single into right field for a 1-0 advantage.
Wheaton evened the contest in the top of the second as sophomore third baseman Justin Peluso (North Andover, Mass./St. John's Prep) drove in senior catcher Dan Gusovsky (Andover, Mass./Andover) with an RBI single to center field. Sophomore designated hitterTyler Contillo (Montville, Conn./Montville) and Gusovsky set up the scoring inning with back-to-back singles.
In the bottom half of the frame, the Lyons prevented Farmingdale State from reclaiming the lead by snuffing out a double steal attempt. Senior Eric Wiener (Deer Park, N.Y./Briarcliffe) was tagged out at home on the backend of the baserunning play, 6-2-5-3.
Gusovsky pushed Wheaton ahead, 2-1, in the third roping an RBI single into left-center field scoring senior shortstop Eric Jensen (Gorham, N.H./Gorham) from second. Jensen earned a walk with two outs while sophomore first baseman Apolinar De la Cruz (Providence, R.I./Classical) singled up the middle before Gusovsky drove in his team-leading fourth RBI of the season.
Farmingdale State put the tying run 90-feet away in two separate innings but the Lyons bullpen held true to maintain its one run lead and hold on for the win. Laliberte spelled a first-and-third situation with two outs in the sixth inducing senior first baseman Ron Remi (Massapequa, N.Y./St. Anthony's) into a groundout. In the eighth inning, Grant got sophomore pinch-hitter Ryan Levine (West Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) to fly out to right field with two outs.
Wheaton added an insurance run in the top of the ninth as sophomore left fielder Kevin Foley (Southbury, Conn./Pomperaug) scored senior right fielder Paul O'Neill (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) with a run-producing groundout to the catcher.
Gusovsky, Peluso and freshman second baseman Matt Lavanchy (Walpole, Mass./Walpole)all collected two hits in the contest. The Lyons also had three stolen bases coming from Foley, De la Cruz and freshman outfielder Jimmy Smith (Worcester, Mass./Saint John's).
Wheaton (2-0, 0-0 NEWMAC) returns to action on Saturday, March 9 against The College of New Jersey in Winter Haven, Florida at Chain of Lakes Stadium for a non-conference matchup at 6:00 p.m. The Lyons will remain in Florida for their spring break trip until March 17. Farmingdale State (3-6, 0-0 Skyline) will play Brockport State in the SUNYAC-Skyline Challenge on Saturday, March 9 at 1 p.m.