Baseball Falls to Wheaton College, 11-4

Box Score

NORTON, Mass. -- A six-run opening inning pushed the fourth-ranked Wheaton College baseball team to an 11-4 non-conference triumph over visiting Bridgewater State College on Tuesday at Sidell Stadium.
 
The Lyons, who are tied with Eastern Connecticut State University atop the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) rankings, won for the 20th time in their last 22 games to improve to 21-3, while the Bears slip to 11-11.
 
A pair of long balls highlighted the Blue and White's opening frame, including a three-run shot over the right field fence from junior Paul Malaguti (Andover, MA), his team-high-tying fifth homer of the spring.  Classmate Jason Clucas (Peabody, MA) followed Malaguti with a solo blast to left.  Sophomore Sean Munley (Trenton, NJ) had a run-scoring single, while senior Nick Pecora (Highland Park, NJ) came around on a wild pitch to complete the scoring, as the hosts chased Bear senior Jeff Sarahs (Whitman, MA).
 
Wheaton senior southpaw Brian Hughes (Dudley, MA) got off to a strong start in retiring eight of his first nine batters en route to picking up his fourth win of the season.  Hughes struck out seven batters without issuing a walk in six innings, while seniors Karl Olson (Bethel, ME) and Josh Simmons (Cranston, RI) and junior Jon Shepard (Salisbury, MA) combined to toss three one-hit frames with three strikeouts.
 
After falling behind by six runs early, the visitors got on the board when junior Mark Claffey (Bellingham, MA) plated a run in the third with a two-out single to right.  The Lyons got that run back the following frame when junior Jeff Lieneck (Foxboro, MA) singled home sophomore Hadi Raad (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY), who led off with a base knock.
 
The teams exchanged a pair of runs in the fifth and another in the sixth to make the score 10-4.  Wheaton's 10th run came on another homer, as Lieneck's third dinger of the season pushed the Lyons to double digits for the 13th time.  Back-to-back eighth-inning doubles off the bats of sophomore Rob Jenkins (Rochester, NH) and freshman Dan Haugh (Andover, MA) provided the game's final run, as Wheaton finished with 15 hits.
 
Pecora went 3-for-5 to lead the Lyons, while Malaguti batted 2-for-3 with three RBI, two runs and a long ball.  Clucas posted two hits, a pair of runs, a homer and a double, Lieneck plated two with two hits and the home run, while Munley added two knocks.  Freshman Hal Landers (Salem, NH) drove in two runs, and sophomore Eric Laliberte (Nashua, NH) drew a pair of walks.
 
For Bridgewater, senior Kelly LaDow (East Falmouth, MA) went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI and a two-bagger, while classmate Brad Koneski (North Dighton, MA) was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.