2003 NEWMAC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT - Wheaton runs NEWMAC championship streak to five straight years
NORTON, MA- Sophomore Jon Jackson (Ipswich, MA/Hamilton-Wenham) tossed eight scoreless innings with seven strikeouts while senior Brett Edmunds (Wolfeboro, NH/Kingswood Regional) and sophomore Rob Cipolla (South Windsor, CT/Kingswood Regional) each posted a two-run homerun in the second and third innings, leading Wheaton to a 7-0 shutout over Coast Guard and a fifth consecutive New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament title in Wednesday afternoon's elimination game at Sidell Stadium. Advancing to their fourth straight NCAA Division III Tournament, the Lyons improve to 22-8-2 overall. The Bears are now 18-16 on the year. Following an inning and a half of scoreless play, Wheaton senior Scott Beattie (Springvale, ME/Sanford) triggered the Lyon offense with a single to open the second frame. Three batters later, Edmunds launched his first homer of the season over the left field fence to give the Blue and White an early 2-0 advantage. Cipolla doubled the lead in the third on a single swing of the bat, as he delivered a deep shot to center for a 4-0 cushion. First-year Rafael Castillo (Queens, NY/Christ The King), who reached safely on a walk, also scored on the play. Aside from the first inning where the Bears had two runners in scoring position, Jackson kept the Coast Guard offense at bay, as the visitors were unable to get past first base in the second through eighth innings. The Lyons added three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth, highlighted by a two-run single from junior Tim Ziakas (Roxbury, NJ/Roxbury) and an RBI single from Edmunds. In the ninth, the Bears put two runners on base with only one out, however junior hurler Trevor Alexander (Wilton, ME/Mt. Blue) put a halt to any potential threat, retiring his next two batters on strikes to end the contest. Wheaton posted three multiple-hit performances on the day, led by Edmunds' 3-for-4 performance with three RBI and two runs scored. Ziakas and Beattie each finished with two hits apiece. Sophomore Nick Anderson (Westerly, RI) was the lone multiple hitter for Coast Guard, going 2-for-4 on the afternoon. Jackson improved to 3-1 on the mound for the Lyons, scattering six hits with only one walk. Junior Jeremy Bohn (Page, AZ) suffered his fifth loss of the season, yielding nine hits with three strikeouts and two walks in 5.1 innings of work. 2003 NEWMAC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT SCORING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E HR: Wheaton- Rob Cipolla (2), Brett Edmunds (1) |