WORCESTER, Mass. – The Nichols College baseball team defeated Wheaton (MA) 9-6 in extra innings in non-conference action Tuesday evening at Clark University.
 
The Bison trailed 6-2 after seven innings before scratching across four runs in the eighth inning before scoring three runs in extra-innings to take the win.
 
Freshman Kyle Bouchard (Fall River, Mass.) finished 4-for-5 with three runs driven in and scored the tying run in the Bison's four-run eighth inning. Bouchard also doubled to start the 10th inning before junior Greg Eng (Middletown, R.I.)pinch ran for him and scored the go-ahead run on an error by sophomore pitcher Casey Twomey (Biddeford, Maine).
 
Senior Matt Hardy (North Attleboro, Mass.) picked up a couple of hits and scored a pair of runs while sophomore Joe Assenza (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) drove in two runs to lead the Bison to their first 2-0 start to a season since the 2011 campaign.
 
The Lyons were led by sophomore Jared Sharkey (West Bridgewater, Mass.) who drove in three runs on a pair of hits and scored another and sophomore Tyler Walsh (Cumberland, R.I.) who scored twice.
 
Nine different student-athletes made up the 13 hits for the Bison – including junior Cam Cook (Phoenixville, Pa.) who also stole two bases.
 
Sophomore Danny Hayden (East Greenwich, R.I.) earned the win after tossing three innings of relief while allowing only a pair of runs on three hits while striking out three. Junior StigErik McElhinney (Dracut, Mass.) started the game and allowed four runs (all earned) through six innings on eight hits while walking one and striking out four.
 
Junior Kevin Kirley (Clinton, Mass.) – who set the program-record last season with 11 saves – picked up his first save of the season after pitching a scoreless 10th.
 
Sophomore Tommy Larason (Norwell, Mass.) took the loss after allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits through 2.1 innings of work.
 
All-Time Series
The Bison defeated the Lyons for the first time in program-history and are now 1-2 in the all-time series. The last time the two teams played each other was in the 2005 season.
 
Next Games
Nichols (2-0) – Friday, March 10 vs Heidelberg in Snowbird Classic in Punta Gorda, Fla., 9:00 a.m.
Wheaton (MA) (0-1) – Friday, March 10 vs Rowan in RussMatt Invitational, 4:00 p.m.