March 27, 2009
BEVERLY, Mass. - Junior catcher Jeff Lieneck (Foxboro, Mass.) went 4-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored, while senior Brian Hughes (Dudley, Mass.) allowed two runs on eight hits in six and a third to propel 6th-ranked Wheaton past Endicott, 6-2, on Friday afternoon in Beverly, Mass. The win is the Lyons' 13th-in-a-row, improving the visitors to 14-1. Endicott falls to 5-7 with the loss.
Wheaton jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the third as Sean Munley (Trenton, N.J.) singled to helpe advance Lieneck over to third, where he eventually scored on a fielder's choice RBI by Dan Haugh (Andover, Mass.). The Lyons then tacked on a single run in both the fourth and the fifth, as Paul Malaguti (Andover, Mass.) led off the top of the fifth with a ground-rule double down the right field line. Hal Landers (Salem, N.H.) then doubled to center, scoring Malaguti to put Wheaton ahead, 3-0.
The Gulls got a run back in the home half of the fifth as Dan Greel (Rockport, Mass.) singled to right, scoring Michael Russo (Natick, Mass.) to make it 3-1. The Blue and Green then pulled within one in the sixth as Aaron Santos (Cambridge, Mass.) led off the frame with a towering shot to right field, making it 3-2 on the round-tripper.
That was as close as Endicott would get as Wheaton scored a pair of insurance runs in the eighth, and then successfully pulled off a suicide squeeze in the ninth to take the 6-2 win. Josh Simmons (Cranston, R.I.) closed out the Gulls in the bottom of the ninth as the senior righty struck out the side to seal the win.
Wheaton had six different players notch an RBI, and five batters recorded multiple hits on the day. Malaguti was 3-for-4 and Hal Landers was 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. The Lyons had a combined 15 hits and left 17 men on base on Friday.
Endicott returns to action on Saturday as the Gulls host Wentworth in a The Commonwealth Coast Conference doubleheader beginning at noon on North Field. Wheaton looks to extend its winning-streak as the Lyons play in a double-dip in Cambridge, Mass. against MIT on the same day.