NORTON, Mass. –- First year pitcher Benjamin Oliveira (Somerset, Mass.) threw a complete-game victory to lead the No. 8/11 and top-seeded Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team over third-seeded Babson College, 10-2, to capture the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference Tournament Baseball Championship this afternoon at Sidell Stadium on the campus of host top-seeded Wheaton College in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons, who are ranked eighth in the most recent D3baseball.com national poll and 11th in the Collegiate Baseball/American Baseball Coaches Association survey, win their third straight and 17th overall NEWMAC Championship and earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Baseball Tournament for the 18th time in school history. Wheaton has won 12 of its last 13 and 20 of its last 22 games and improves to 37-6 on the season. The Lyons will await its seeding in the upcoming NCAA Regional.
The Beavers dip to 24-18 after reaching the NEWMAC title game for the 11th time in school history.
The margin of victory is the largest for Wheaton in a NEWMAC Tournament game since a 12-3 win over Worcester Polytechnic Institute on April 25, 2015 in the semifinal game and it's the biggest margin of victory in a title contest for the Lyons since an 11-2 win over Babson on May 5, 2012.
Oliveira was outstanding for Wheaton, becoming the first Lyon to hurl a complete game in the NEWMAC Tournament since Gavin Reily went the distance in a 3-1 win over Clark University in the early rounds of the conference tournament on May 4, 2018. He is the first Wheaton pitcher to earn a complete game victory in the championship game since Louie Bernardini went all nine innings in a 7-1 result against Massachusetts Institute of Technology on April 30, 2006 and is the first freshman ever to claim a complete-game triumph in the title game for the Lyons. He allowed two runs on five hits and one walk, while fanning five in 117 pitches to improve to a perfect 5-0 on the season.
Senior catcher Robert Wirtanen (Brentwood, N.H.) was 2-3 with a home run, two runs batted in, a pair of runs scored and a walk for Wheaton, while senior shortstop Cavan Brady (Sheffield, Mass.), who was named the NEWMAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, was 2-5 with two RBI and a run scored. Sophomore left fielder Kevin Matos (Lawrence, Mass.) smacked a pair of doubles in three at-bats to go with a walk, a run batted in and two runs scored.
Senior left fielder Michael Cook (Whitman, Mass.) led the Beavers at the plate with a 2-4 effort, including a double and two RBI, while junior second baseman Tanner Santos (Bethany, Conn.) was 1-3 with a walk and a run scored. First year right fielder Ryan Hvozdovic (Hillsborough, N.J.) was 1-4 with a double and a run scored. First year right-handed starting pitcher James Clark (Southborough, Mass.) suffered the loss to dip to 1-2 after allowing three runs on two hits and two walks in one and two-thirds innings of work.
Wheaton scored three runs in the bottom of the second to take a 3-0 lead, before the Beavers made it a one-run game with two runs in the third. The Lyons broke the game open with a six-run fourth, before scoring the final run of the day in the sixth.
The Lyons scored six times in the fourth to put a comfortable distance between themselves and Babson after entering the inning with a one-run edge. Matos doubled to open the frame before Wirtanen belted his fourth home run of the season over the right field fence to give Wheaton a 5-2 lead. The Lyons took advantage of some Beaver miscues to add to their lead, scoring on an error and a wild pitch to increase their margin to 7-2. Brady capped the inning with a two-run single to give Wheaton a seven-run cushion after four innings.
The Lyons tacked on another run in the sixth to make it 8-2 when Croteau stroked a single to right field and Matos later ripped a two-out double to the right center field gap to plate Croteau as Matos pulled into second with a head-first slide.
The first four batters reached base for Wheaton in the bottom of the second as part of a three-run inning. Brady and Wirtanen sandwiched singles around a Matos base on balls to load the bases with no outs. Sophomore first baseman Timmy Wagner (Hingham, Mass.) worked a walk to force in Brady with the first run of the game. Matos scored on a wild pitch and Wirtanen crossed the plate when junior right fielder Tommy Ambrosone (Hopkinton, Mass.) grounded out to second on a ball that was initially bobbled to eliminate the possibility of a double play, resulting in the Lyons' third run.
Babson got two runs back in the third to cut the deficit to 3-2. Hvozdovic opened the inning with a double down the right field line, before Santos singled and junior Brant Savage (Charlton, Mass.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. Oliveira got the next batter to line out to third, but Cook followed with a two-run single to right field to get the Beavers on the board with their only runs of the game.