BROCKPORT, N.Y. – Senior right fielder Jake Studley (Barrington, R.I.) homered twice and hit two doubles, while driving in four runs to lead the No. 22 Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team over Johnson & Wales University, 9-3, this afternoon in an NCAA Tournament Regional elimination game at host State University of New York Brockport's Clark V. Whited Complex in Brockport, N.Y.
The bracket's top-seeded Lyons, who are ranked in the most recent National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association/D3baseball.com Coaches Poll, have won 19 of their last 20 games and improve to 32-11 on the season, while the fourth-seeded Wildcats fall to 18-27 to end their season.
Wheaton avenged a 6-3 defeat at the hands of JWU on Friday, which put the Lyons into the lower bracket. Wheaton advances to Sunday's Championship final for the eighth time in school history to take on second-seeded Baldwin Wallace University at 11:00 a.m.
Johnson & Wales took an early 2-0 lead with single runs on sacrifice files in both the third and fifth innings. The Lyons erupted for five runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh to take a commanding 8-2 advantage. Both teams tacked on a single run in the eighth to set the final at 9-3.
Studley recorded his second 4-5 effort of the day for Wheaton to finish the afternoon going a combined 8-10 after collecting four hits in five at-bats in the morning win against SUNY Brockport. The right fielder racked up 12 total bases for the second-most in a game in school annals and becomes the only player in school history to register 12 or more total bases in a game twice. He hit a pair of home runs, doubled and singled twice against Suffolk University on April 13 to amass 12 total bases as well. His two-homer output marks the 20th time that a player has hit two home runs in a game for Wheaton and he is now just the fourth player to have done it twice in program history and only the second player to do it in the same season after hitting a pair of long balls vs. Suffolk. He also scored a pair of runs.
The Lyons rapped out 15 hits, including multiple hits by five different players. Sophomore center fielder AJ Guindon (Coventry, R.I.) was 3-5 with two RBI, while junior shortstop Cavan Brady (Great Barrington, Mass.) was 2-4 with a triple, two runs scored, a run batted in and a walk. Junior second baseman Mike Maher (Jefferson, Mass.) was 2-5 with an RBI and a run scored and senior catcher Zach DeMattio (North Attleboro, Mass.) was 2-4 with a double and a walk. Not to be overlooked was a great pitching effort from senior right-hander Griffin Young (Dover, N.H.), who improved to 7-1 on the season and 18-2 in his career after hurling nine complete innings and allowing three runs (two earned) on just five hits and two walks in addition to four strikeouts.
First year center fielder Trevor Juan (Bolton, Conn.) led the Wildcats with two runs batted in and a 1-2 showing at the plate to go with a run scored. Junior Griffin Snyder (Marietta, Ga.) was 1-4 with an RBI. Senior righty Kyle Cutler (East Hampton, Conn.) took the loss to drop to 4-2 after giving up six runs on 11 hits and three walks in six innings, while striking out two.
Facing a 2-0 deficit in the top of the sixth inning after JWU added a run in its half of the fifth, Wheaton put five runs on the board to take a 5-2 margin. The Lyons wasted no time in erasing the deficit with junior third baseman Nick Croteau (Cumberland, R.I.) drawing a leadoff walk before Studley hit his first home run of the game over the right-center field fence to knot the game at 2-2. Brady singled and later came around to score ahead of a run-scoring single to center field from Maher to give the Lyons their first lead. Sophomore Will Haskell (Natick, Mass.) worked a walk to load the bases to set up a two-run single to right off the bat of Guindon to knock in senior left fielder Stephen Quigley (Halifax, Mass.), who reached on an error, and Maher with the fourth and fifth runs for Wheaton.
The Lyons added three more runs in the seventh to increase their advantage to 8-2. Studley blasted his second homer of the game and 11th of the season over the scoreboard in left field to open the inning and give Wheaton a 6-2 margin. His season total is the fourth-most in school history, while his career mark of 20 also ranks him fourth. Brady knocked in another run with a triple that got behind the center fielder and Quigley ripped a single to center to deliver the Lyons' eighth run and turn an earlier 2-0 deficit into a six-run lead.
Wheaton scored an insurance run in the eighth when Croteau smacked a two-out single and Studley hit a rocket at the third baseman's feet that ricocheted into the air, allowing Studley to take second for a double and Croteau to come around to score.
Juan hit the first pitch he saw to open the eighth with a single for Johnson & Wales and moved to second when first year third baseman Xavier Botelho (Rehoboth, Mass.) worked a walk. Young spun a double play to put the Lyons an out away from getting out of the inning, but Snyder singled to center to plate the Wildcats' third and final run.
Young fanned a batter for the second out of the ninth and, fittingly, the final out landed in Studley's glove to end the game.
Sophomore shortstop Riley Hasson (South Portland, Maine) singled to left to lead off the third, stole second and later scored on a Juan sacrifice fly to center to give JWU a 1-0 edge. The pair combined to give the Wildcats their second run as well in the fifth. Hasson reached on an error to start the frame and later scored on another sacrifice fly from Juan.