De La Cruz goes 3-4 with three runs, one RBI

WINTER HAVEN, Fla.  – The Wheaton College baseball team, ranked No. 17 in the latest D3baseball.com national poll, scored five runs in the first inning en route to an 11-4 victory over The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) on Saturday afternoon at Chain of Lakes Stadium.

Senior Nick Filloramo (Rochester, Mass./Old Rochester Regional) went five-and-one-thirds innings pitched allowing eight hits, three runs (all earned), one walk and two strikeouts to earn the win for the Lyons. Freshman right-hander Kyle Kasprzyk (East Falmouth, Mass./Falmouth) struck out three hitters in a row in his collegiate debut, while sophomore Mike Koperniak (Adams, Mass./Hoosac Valley) and senior Mike McGinnis (Mashpee, Mass./Mashpee) combined for one-and-two-thirds scoreless innings of relief.

TCNJ senior Brendan Kelly (Butler, N.J./Butler) was tabbed with the loss on three-and-two-thirds innings, six hits, eight runs (seven earned), five walks and one punchout.

The Lyons put up a five spot on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning as junior Tyler Contillo (Montville, Conn./Montville) worked a leadoff walk and sophomore Matt Lavanchy (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) ripped a single to right putting runners at the corners with one out. Junior first baseman Apolinar De La Cruz (Providence, R.I./Classical) followed with an RBI single to right field and eventually came around to score as Mike Bisceglia (New Boston, N.H./Goffstown) smacked a two-run double to the left-center gap for a 3-0 lead.

Sophomore shortstop Brett Fontaine (Newburyport, Mass./Newburyport) made it 4-0 on an RBI ground out to second which plated Mike Beneduce (North Kingstown, R.I./Moses Brown School) who reached base earlier via a hit-by-pitch. Bisceglia scored the final run of the frame on a fielding error to cap Wheaton's five-run first.

Lyons' sophomore center fielder Jimmy Smith (Worcester, Mass./Saint John's) drove in a pair of runs in the third on a single to left-center field and junior Justin Peluso (North Reading, Mass./Saint John's Prep) singled home Smith in the fifth to highlight the scoring.

After sophomore Mark Mari (Bayonne, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) hit a two-run double to left-center in the sixth, Kasprzykk spelled Filloramo in the inning by striking out his first collegiate batter he faced looking on six pitches. Kasprzyk fanned two more batters before being lifted for Koperniak in the seventh.

Wheaton (2-0) takes on Saint Joseph's (Maine) tomorrow for a double-header beginning at 9:15 a.m. TCNJ (0-1) plays Suffolk University tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.

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