NORTON, Mass. – The Roger Williams University Baseball team stepped out of conference play Thursday afternoon, falling to Wheaton College by a 27-2 score.
Sophomore hurler Nolan Corr (Somersworth, NH/Saint Thomas Aquinas) improved to 6-0 and senior Jeff Lieneck (Foxboro, MA/Xaverian Brothers) went 2-for-4 with four RBI and three runs to lead Wheaton College.
Corr faced the minimum number of batters through four innings, yielding just one hit, before giving up two runs in the fifth. The Lyons held a comfortable 13-2 lead at that point. Corr struck out four batters in six strong innings, while freshman Justin Dickinson (Stratford, CT/Bunnell) tossed perfect frames in the seventh and eighth with two strikeouts before senior closer Jon Shepard (Salisbury, MA/Triton Regional) tossed a perfect ninth with one strikeout.
Offensively, the hosts banged out 23 hits, including seven doubles, while scoring in every inning but one. Wheaton pushed across multiple runs in six frames, including seven in the sixth and six in the third. Junior Hadi Raad (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY/Hastings) plated three runs, scored four others and had two hits, while classmate Eric Laliberte (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) went 3-for-3 with two runs as a reserve.
Sophomore Dan Haugh (Andover, MA/Saint John's Prep) went 3-for-4 with two RBI, while junior Sean Munley (Trenton, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton) and sophomore Hal Landers (Salem, NH/Salem) each had two hits, two runs and two RBI. Junior Tad Skelley (Wolfeboro, NH/Holderness School), sophomore Dan Demeo (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) and freshmen Justin Connor (Arlington, MA/Arlington) and Eric Jensen (Gorham, NH/Gorham) plated two runs apiece.
Sophomore John Keating (Duxbury, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon School) added two hits and two runs, senior Paul Malaguti (Andover, MA/Andover) drew three walks and scored twice, and freshman Sean Ryan (Norton, MA/Norton) had a pair of bases on balls while scoring two times.
For Roger Williams, freshman Rob Zarthar (Dedham, MA/Dedham) was the lone multiple hitter with two, while classmate Logan Hartman (Fairfield, CT/Fairfield Ludlowe) suffered the pitching loss. He surrendered 10 runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and four walks in 2.2 innings.
A pair of two-out, two-run hits by Lieneck and Jensen in the first gave the Lyons an early 4-0 lead. Wheaton added six runs on five hits in the third, with Haugh providing a two-run single. Landers, Munley, Raad and Skelley each drove in a run during the frame.
The Lyons (18-7) remain at home tomorrow for a non-league game against local foe Bridgewater State College at 3:30 p.m. Roger Williams (7-20) will play against Curry College Saturday.
- Release courtesy of the Wheaton College Sports Information Department
