2006 NEWMAC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
Wheaton Nabs Seventh Title in Eight Years, Downs MIT in Championship Game

NORTON, MA- Top-seeded Wheaton College won its seventh New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) baseball tournament crown in eight years with a 7-1 win over number four Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on Sunday at Sidell Stadium. The Lyons, who are ranked seventh in the country and first in New England by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), won their NCAA Division III-leading 24th straight game by improving to 31-6 and finished the month of April 21-0. MIT fell to 18-12.

The game began with a stellar defensive play, as Wheaton junior leftfielder Travis Anthoine (Portland, ME/Portland) laid out in left center to rob MIT junior leadoff hitter Jason Witzberger (Wheeling, WV/The Linsly School) of extra bases. However, Engineer sophomore Kevin Wheeler (Tucson, AZ/Catalina Foothills) came through with a two-out RBI double into shallow centerfield later in the inning to make it 1-0. MIT turned in a fielding gem of its own in the second, as senior shortstop Wayne Duggan (Hazel Green, AL/Hazel Green) dove up the middle to start an inning-ending double play.

The Lyons evened the score during the third inning, as senior Rafael Castillo (Queens, NY/Christ The King) walked and came around following a hit and two errors. Castillo put the hosts on top for good the following inning, lining an RBI double down the left field line to bring home sophomore Jake Yagjian (Brewster, MA/Nauset Regional), who walked with two down.

Wheaton broke it open with four runs on two hits and two errors in the fifth, as sophomore Scott Guillerault (South Portland, ME/South Portland) smacked an RBI single up the middle, senior Mark Baumer (Durham, ME/Greely) drove a two-run triple into the right field corner, and junior Adam Laplante (Harwich, MA/Harwich) brought Baumer home on a suicide squeeze. Castillo again doubled leading off the eighth and scored Wheaton's final run on senior Andy Koocher's (Portland, ME/Portland) two-out base knock.

In addition to Anthoine's catch, Wheaton's defense came up big early on, spinning inning-ending twin killings in each the second, fourth and fifth frames. Sophomore righty Louie Bernardini (Gray, ME/Gray-New Gloucester) stifled MIT's bats as the game wore on, holding the final 11 batters hitless and yielding only two singles over the final five-plus innings. Bernardini allowed seven hits and one earned run during a complete game, striking out six and walking two. During the tournament, Wheaton's starting pitchers completed 26.2 of a possible 27 innings. Castillo went 2-for-3, scoring twice with a pair of doubles. Baumer and Koocher each added a pair of hits.

For MIT, Wheeler and freshman Thomas Phillips (Durham, NC/C.E. Jordan) each went 2-for-4, while Witzberger held the Lyon bats at bay for much of his first pitching outing of the season. The southpaw yielded five earned runs on four hits in four-plus innings, walking five and striking out three.

Wheaton returns to action with six games this coming week to prepare for the NCAA Division III New England Regional Tournament, which begins on May 17 at Whitehouse Field in Harwich.

2006 NEWMAC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
Wheaton 7, MIT 1

MIT: Jason Witzberger (0-1), Rich Kosoglow (5) and Kyle Zeller
Wheaton: Louie Bernardini (5-1) and Adam Laplante
2B: MIT-Kevin Wheeler (7); Wheaton- Rafael Castillo 2 (7)
3B: Wheaton- Mark Baumer (3)
Multiple Hitters: MIT- Thomas Phillips 2, Kevin Wheeler 2; Wheaton- Mark Baumer 2, Rafael Castillo 2, Andy Koocher 2