NORTON, Mass. -- Sophomore center fielder AJ Guindon (Coventry, R.I.) hit a walkoff RBI single in the 11th inning to give the Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team an 8-7 victory over visiting Western New England University this afternoon at Sidell Stadium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass. The Lyons win their 13th straight game to improve to 26-10 on the season, while the Golden Bears drop to 16-16-1.
The current win streak is tied for the fifth-longest in NCAA Division III this season and the fifth-longest in school history. Wheaton is also riding a 23-game home win streak, which is the second-longest in the nation among DIII schools.
The Lyons faced a pair of two-run deficits after the eighth inning and came back from both of them, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings and three runs in the 11th to win the contest.
Guindon was 2-6 with a triple, a run batted in and a walk for Wheaton. Junior shortstop Cavan Brady (Great Barrington, Mass.) led all hitters with a career-high four RBI, going 2-4 with a double, a walk and a run scored, while junior third baseman Nick Croteau (Cumberland, R.I.) was 2-6 with two runs driven in and a run scored. Senior right fielder Jake Studley (Barrington, R.I.) was 2-6 with a double and a run scored to give him nine hits in two days and senior Zach DeMattio (North Attleboro, Mass.) reached base four times with a double, a single and two walks and scored four times. First year right-handed pitcher Ryan McCarroll (Clifton Park, N.Y.) earned his first collegiate victory with an inning of relief. He allowed two runs on three hits and struck out a batter. The three relievers before him combined to throw 5 ⅓ innings of two-hit scoreless ball, while fanning seven batters. Junior lefty Zachary Nichols (Chicopee, Mass.) tossed a hitless inning and struck out two, while classmate Max Pierce (Scituate, R.I.) tossed two and a third innings of no-hit ball and allowed a walk to go with a pair of strikeouts. Senior Dom Cunha (Lincoln, R.I.) pitched a scoreless ninth and 10th inning, giving up a pair of hits, while striking out three.
Junior left fielder EJ Dudley (Meriden, Conn.) was 1-4 with a homer and a walk for Western New England, while graduate student right fielder Joe Webber (Marshfield, Mass.) was 2-5 with a solo home run. Junior second baseman Paul Villecco (Cheshire, Conn.) was 2-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Sophomore righty reliever Jared Kuryan (Madison, Conn.) (0-3) suffered the loss after giving up three runs on four hits and a walk to go with a strikeout. First year starting pitcher Jacob Hobart (Hudson, N.H.) yielded two runs on four hits and three walks and struck out a batter in four innings of work.
The Lyons faced a 7-5 deficit entering the 11th inning and saw the first three batters of the frame reach safely. DeMattio drew a leadoff walk, before first year Anthony Teberio (Andover, Mass.) smoked a double down the left field line to put both runners in scoring position. Brady ripped a double to the left-center gap to score both runners and just like that the game was tied for the second time in three innings at 7-7. Sophomore pinch-hitter Amedeo Ucci Jr (Warwick, R.I.) later beat out a ground ball to deep short with a headfirst slide into first base to put runners on the corners with one out for Wheaton. Senior Stephen Quigley (Halifax, Mass.) came to the plate as a pinch-hitter and hit a sharp liner to second base that probably would have knocked in the winning run had the infield not been drawn in. Down to their last out, Guindon laced a single to right field to score Brady and give the Lyons their eighth comeback win of the season and the sixth after the seventh inning.
Wheaton took a quick 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the first inning. Studley began the two-out rally with a double for his fifth straight hit after going 4-4 the previous game. DeMattio reached on an infield single to push Studley to third before senior first baseman Drew Spirito (Cranston, R.I.) drew a walk to load the bases. Brady delivered a two-run single to left field for the lead.
The Golden Bears answered immediately with a long solo homer over the right field fence from Webber to open the second inning and cut the visitors' deficit in half. WNEU pulled even with a run in the fourth. First year shortstop John Bova (Trumbull, Conn.) smacked a double to right to advance sophomore catcher Kohtaro Shimada (Woburn, Mass.) to third after he reached on a fielder's choice. Villecco grounded out to first to plate Shimada with the tying run to make it 2-2.
Western New England took a 5-2 lead with three more runs in the fifth. Senior Ben Harrison (Newtown, Conn.) opened the frame with a double to left and later scored ahead of Dudley's third home run of the season on a shot over the right field fence. Caccavale continued the inning with a single up the middle and stole second and then third and scored on an errant throw.
The Lyons got a run back in the seventh to pull within 5-3. DeMattio received a base on balls as did Brady with two outs in the inning. Croteau came through with an RBI single to right to score DeMattio with the third run.
Wheaton faced a two-run gap in the ninth before DeMattio doubled just inside the third base bag and down the line to lead off the inning. Two ground outs later, Croteau was clutch again with a run-scoring single to right to bring home DeMattio and make it 5-4. Sophomore pinch-hitter Will Haskell (Natick, Mass.) made his only plate appearance of the game a big one with a double to the right field fence to score Croteau with the tying run.
The Golden Bears reclaimed the lead in the 11th with a pair of runs. Bova and Villecco struck back-to-back one-out singles to put runners on the corners, before first year first baseman CJ Willis (Auburn, Mass.) doubled over the left fielder's head to plate both runs.
The Lyons return to action on Tuesday, May 3 when they travel to Westfield, Mass. for their regular-season finale against Westfield State University at 4:00 p.m., while WNEU hosts Framingham State University on the same day at 3:30 p.m.