This release is courtesy of Wheaton Athletic Communications
NORTON, Mass. - The Wheaton Lyons claimed the 2023 NEWMAC Baseball Championship on Monday afternoon. The Lyons defeated the Babson Beavers in back to back games to earn the conferences automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament.
Game 7 - Wheaton 7, Babson 3
Sophomore left fielder Kevin Matos (Lawrence, Mass.) (three) and senior third baseman Nick Croteau (Cumberland, R.I.) (two) combined to drive in five runs to lead the No. 8/11 and top-seeded Wheaton College (Mass.) baseball team over third-seeded Babson College, 7-3, in the New England Women’s & Men’s Athletic Conference Tournament 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, force another game vs. the Beavers, who were previously undefeated in tournament play, for the NEWMAC Championship. Wheaton has won 12 of its last 13 and 20 of its last 22 games and improves to 36-6 on the season, while the Beavers drop to 24-17. The teams will play each other again today at 1:45 p.m. at Sidell Stadium and meet for the NEWMAC crown for the first time since the Lyons defeated Babson, 10-4, on May 16, 2021.
Matos finished the game going 2-3 with a double, three RBI and a run scored, while Croteau was 2-4 with two runs batted in and a run scored for Wheaton. Senior shortstop Cavan Brady (Sheffield, Mass.) led all batters with three hits in four at-bats to go with a run scored, while senior second baseman Mike Maher (Jefferson, Mass.) was 2-3 with a double and two runs scored. Sophomore right-handed starting pitcher Jackson Walsh (Cumberland, R.I.) earned his second victory in as many games after winning in relief less than 24 hours prior to improve to 4-0 after yielding three runs on five hits and two walks in addition to a strikeout in six innings. The Wheaton bullpen combined to hurl three innings of no-hit ball, including a ninth inning that saw senior southpaw Zach Nichols (Chicopee, Mass.) strike out the side to close out the game.
Senior center fielder Patrick Manning (Weymouth, Mass.) paced Babson with a 1-3 effort, including a triple, a walk and an RBI, while junior catcher Ike Kiely (Falmouth, Maine) and graduate student Ryan Noone (Belmont, Mass.) were each 1-3 with a run scored. Senior righty Anthony St. John (Hopewell, N.J.) was tagged with the loss and fell to 5-3 after giving up six runs on 11 hits and a walk to go with a pair of strikeouts in six and a third innings pitched.
The teams traded single runs with Babson scoring in the first and the Lyons matching in the fourth. Wheaton scored three runs in the sixth, before the Beavers answered with a pair of runs in the seventh to make it 4-3. The Lyons got the runs back in the bottom of the inning to keep it a three-run game, before tacking on a single run in the eighth.
Wheaton scored three times in the bottom of the sixth to take its first lead of the tournament. The Lyons strung three straight hits together to open the inning with Croteau ripping a single to center, before Brady laced a single up the middle to send Croteau to third. Matos came through with a double to the base of the right field fence to drive in Croteau and Brady with the go-ahead runs. Matos later scored on a double-play to give Wheaton a 4-1 lead.
Babson made it a one-run game with a pair of runs in the seventh. The first four batters of the frame all reached for the Beavers, including a bases-loaded walk. Noone and Kiely registered consecutive singles to center field, before first year right fielder Ryan Hvozdovic (Hillsborough, N.J.) dumped a single into right field to load the bases with no outs. Manning worked a walk to force home Noone with Babson’s second run. Junior second baseman Tanner Santos (Bethany, Conn.) pulled the Beavers within a run with a sacrifice fly to right to plate Kiely and make it 4-3.
The Lyons tacked on two insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a 6-3 advantage. Junior center fielder AJ Guindon (Coventry, R.I.) laced a single up the middle, before Maher ripped a one-out double to right field to put both runners in scoring position. Croteau delivered a two-run single to right field to give Wheaton a three-run lead. The Lyons added one more run in the eighth to increase their margin to 7-3. Wheaton loaded the bases with no outs after Matos singled to center, followed by free passes issued to senior catcher Robert Wirtanen (Brentwood, N.H.) and sophomore first baseman Timmy Wagner (Hingham, Mass.). Junior right fielder Tommy Ambrosone (Hopkinton, Mass.), followed with a fielder’s choice to bring home Matos with the final run of the game.
Babson cracked the scoring column with a run in the top of the first to take a 1-0 edge. Santos drew a walk to lead off the game and went to third on a single through the right side to put runners on the corners with no outs. First year first baseman Chris Basile (Miami Beach, Fla.) moved into scoring position as well on a wild pitch with no outs, but the Beavers were limited to just one run on a run-scoring ground out to third from senior left fielder Michael Cook (Whitman, Mass.).
Wheaton knotted the game at 1-1 with its first run coming in the bottom of the fourth. Maher opened the frame with an infield single to shortstop before Brady ripped a single to right field to put runners on the corners with one out. Matos lifted a fly ball to center field to plate Maher with a sacrifice fly and pull the Lyons even.
Game 8 - Wheaton 10, Babson 2
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 Abrosone (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.