NEW LONDON, Conn. —  Senior shortstop Cavan Brady (Sheffield, Mass.) hit a two-run home run and the No. 8/9 and top-seeded Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team’s bullpen tossed seven innings of one-run ball to preserve a 6-5 victory over number three seed and host Mitchell College this afternoon to force the if necessary final contest of the NCAA Regional at Alumni Field in New London, Conn.

The Lyons, who are ranked eighth in the most recent D3baseball.com national poll and ninth in the Collegiate Baseball/American Baseball Coaches Association survey, improve to 40-7 on the season for their first 40-win campaign since 2012 when they finished the year with a 41-11 mark. The Mariners, who are ranked 27th in the most recent Collegiate Baseball/American Baseball Coaches Association poll, dip to 33-9.

Both teams combined to score in four of the first five innings before the bullpens held each opposing lineup scoreless over the final four innings of play. Wheaton scored three times in the first, before Mitchell countered with two runs. Each team scored a single run in the second to keep it a one-run game, before the Mariners scratched out a run in the third to tie the contest at 4-4. The Lyons took the lead for good with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth, before Mitchell got a run back in the bottom of the frame.

Brady hit a two-run homer to provide the difference in the game for Wheaton and finished the game going 2-5 with a run scored. Four relievers combined to throw seven innings to close out the game for Wheaton, including sophomore southpaw Josh Fischer (Hopkinton, Mass.), who was credited with the win to improve to 5-1 after allowing a run on five hits to go with two strikeouts in two innings of work. Classmate Joe Mulhern (Taunton, Mass.) hurled two and two-thirds innings of two-hit ball with one walk and a strike out for the Lyons. Senior lefty Zach Nichols (Chicopee, Mass.) picked up his sixth save of the year with a scoreless ninth that saw him surrender one hit and fan a batter. Wheaton pounded out 15 hits to record double-digit knocks for the 34th time this season. Sophomore left fielder Kevin Matos (Lawrence, Mass.) was 3-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored, while senior second baseman Mike Maher (Jefferson, Mass.) was 3-5 with a run batted in and a run scored. 

The Mariners rapped out 12 hits and was paced by sophomore first baseman Bo Yaworski (Brooklyn, Conn.), who was 3-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. First year center fielder Thai-ler Sestokas (Danbury, Conn.) was 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored and junior Owen Robbins (East Lyme, Conn.) was 3-4 with a triple and a run scored. Senior right-hander Kenny Heon (Montville, Conn.) suffered the loss to drop to 3-1 after allowing two runs on four hits to go with four strikeouts in two innings. Senior lefty Kevin Vining (Wallingford, Conn.) closed out the game for Mitchell with two and a third innings of three-hit ball and a strike out. 

Wheaton scored twice with two swings of the bat in the top of the fifth to take a 6-4 lead. Senior third baseman Nick Croteau (Cumberland, R.I.) tattooed a single to center field and Brady crushed a pitch over the left field fence for his seventh round tripper of the year to give the Lyons a two-run lead and him the national lead in runs batted in with 76.

Mitchell threatened to stage a big run-scoring inning in the fifth, loading the bases with just one out, but managed to score just one run and pull within 6-5. Owens opened the inning with a single to left and sophomore designated hitter Matthew Blackwell (Ansonia, Conn.) was hit by a pitch to continue a trend for the Mariners of putting their first two hitters on base to begin an inning. Sestokas laced a single to left field to score Robbins with the fifth Mitchell run. Junior shortstop Angel Galindez (Carolina, P.R.) worked a walk to load the bases, but Mulhern retired the next two batters on fly outs to end the threat for Wheaton.

The Lyons wasted no time, scoring three runs in the top of the first to take a 3-0 lead. Wheaton opened the inning with junior center fielder AJ Guindon (Coventry, R.I.) and Maher both reaching on singles to give the Lyons a pair of baserunners with no outs. Two outs later, Matos delivered a two-run double to right field to give the Lyons a 2-0 lead. Senior catcher Robert Wirtanen (Brentwood, N.H.) served a fly ball to the right-center gap that the diving Mitchell center fielder could not corral, resulting in Matos scoring the third run for Wheaton.

The Mariners answered right away in the bottom of the inning with a pair of runs to make it a one-run game. The first three hitters in the Mitchell lineup all reached, resulting in two runs. Galindez was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame, before Yaworski belted a double to the right-center gap to put both runners in scoring position with no outs. Senior left fielder Dougie DelaCruz (Uncasville, Conn.) came through with a two-run single to center field to plate Galindez and Yaworksi. Lyon sophomore starting pitcher Jackson Walsh (Cumberland, R.I.) settled down and retired three of the next four hitters to get out of the inning.

Wheaton tacked on a run in the second to increase its lead to 4-2. Guindon reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second to set up Maher for an RBI single to right field to bring around Guindon with the Lyons’ fourth run.

Mitchell got the run back in the bottom of the frame to keep it a one-run game. Sestokas laced a leadoff single to left field, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, advanced to third on a ground ball and scored when the red-hot Yaworski ripped a single just past the outstretched Wheaton third baseman to make it 4-3.

The Mariners scored in their third straight inning to open the game to knot the score at 4-4 with a single run. Senior Matt Falk (Enfield, Conn.) drew a leadoff walk and senior Lelo Martinez (New London, Conn.) became the third Mitchell batter to wear a pitch and was awarded first to give the Mariners two runners with no outs. Blackwell delivered a single to right field to bring home Falk, while Martinez moved to third and Blackwell to second on an errant throw to the infield to put both runners in scoring position with just one out. Fischer bared down for the Lyons and set down the next two hitters on strikes to limit the damage and keep it tied.

GAME 2: Wheaton 5, Mitchell 3
NEW LONDON, Conn. —  Sophomore left fielder Kevin Matos (Lawrence, Mass.) homered in the bottom of the sixth to give the No. 8/9 and top-seeded Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team the lead for good in a 5-3 victory over third-seeded and host Mitchell College this afternoon at Alumni Field in New London, Conn.

The Lyons, who are ranked eighth in the most recent D3baseball.com national poll and ninth in the Collegiate Baseball/American Baseball Coaches Association survey, win the NCAA Regional round crown for the fifth time in school history and improve to 41-7 on the season to match the 2012 team (41-11) for the second-highest win total in school history. The Mariners, who are ranked 27th in the most recent Collegiate Baseball/American Baseball Coaches Association poll, conclude their season with a 33-10 mark.

Wheaton will take on No. 1 Johns Hopkins University, which won three straight games to take the regional it hosted in Baltimore, Md. after wins over Pennsylvania State Altoona, No. 20 Randolph-Macon College and Saint John Fisher University.

Both teams scored single runs in the first inning, before the Lyons scored twice in the bottom of the third, only to be matched by two Mitchell runs in the fourth to tie the game at 3-3. Wheaton took a 4-3 edge with a run in the sixth and added an insurance run in the seventh. 

Matos was 2-4 with two runs batted in and a run scored for the Lyons, while senior third baseman Nick Croteau (Cumberland, R.I.) was 1-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Senior shortstop Cavan Brady (Sheffield, Mass.) was 1-3 and also knocked in a run. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Ryan McCarroll (Clifton Park, N.Y.) made his first relief appearance of the season and pitched two and a third innings of no-hit, no-run ball, while issuing a pair of walks and striking out a batter to gain the win and improve to 10-1 on the season. He ties Frank Holbrook’s all-time single-season school mark for wins in a season, set in 2012, and also logged his 77th strikeout of the year to give him the school strikeout mark by himself after tying the standard on Friday. Senior lefty reliever Zach Nichols (Chicopee, Mass.) struck out the side in the ninth for the seventh time this season to earn his team-leading seventh save.

Junior right fielder Owen Robbins (East Lyme, Conn.) led the Mariners’ lineup, going 1-3 with a home run, two RBI, a run scored and a walk, while junior shortstop Angel Galindez (Carolina, P.R.) and senior third baseman Lelo Martinez (New London, Conn.) each singled and scored a run. Senior right-handed reliever Tyler Daly (Wallingford, Conn.) was saddled with the loss to dip to 5-1 after yielding two runs on five hits and a walk in four and a third innings pitched.

Matos gave the Lyons a 4-3 edge in the bottom of the sixth when he crushed a 2-2 pitch well over the right field fence for his team-leading 12th homer of the season.

Wheaton tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh to take a 5-3 lead. Junior center fielder AJ Guindon (Coventry, R.I.) beat out an infield single to deep shortstop, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and took third on a fly out to right field. Brady came through with a single to center field to plate Guindon and give the Lyons a two-run lead. 

Nichols struck out the side in the ninth to nail down the victory and send Wheaton to the Super Regional Round.

Mitchell manufactured a run in the top of the first to crack the scoring column first and take a 1-0 edge. Galindez beat out a bunt single to open the game, before senior left fielder Dougie DelaCruz (Uncasville, Conn.) ripped a single to center to put runners on the corners with one out. Senior catcher Matt Falk (Enfield, Conn.) hit a double-play ball to third, but the throw to first following the out at second was not in time and Galindez scored the first run of the game. 

Wheaton matched the run in the bottom of the inning to pull even at 1-1. Senior second baseman Mike Maher (Jefferson, Mass.) stung a single to center field, before Brady was hit by a pitch to push Maher into scoring position with two outs. Matos delivered a run-scoring single to right field to plate Maher and tie the game at 1-1.

The Lyons added two more runs in the bottom of the third to take a 3-1 margin. Maher drew a one-out walk and was off on the pitch when Croteau put a jolt into a ball that landed in the left-center gap to bring Maher around to score all the way around from first base. Wheaton took advantage of back-to-back wild pitches with Croteau moving to third and then scoring to increase the Lyons’ lead to two runs.

The Mariners scored a pair of runs in the top of the fourth to provide the game’s second tie following their first home run of the tournament. Martinez kept Mitchell’s inning alive with a two-out single to left before Robbins blasted his third home run of the season over the left field fence to knot the game at 3-3. The Mariners looked to add one more run when first year Thai-ler Sestokas (Danbury, Conn.) cranked a pitch to deep left field, but Matos raced back to the fence for Wheaton, leaped and snared the ball out of the air for the final out of the inning.

Mitchell threatened to take the lead in the top of the sixth when it loaded the bases with two outs with walks issued to Falk, Robbins and sophomore designated hitter Matthew Blackwell (Ansonia, Conn.), before McCarroll) got a strikeout to end the inning for the Lyons.