Local Players Lead Wheaton College to Conference Title

First-seeded Wheaton College, ranked no.14 overall in the latest D3baseball.com national poll, won its 13th conference title in the 15-year history of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) with a 6-3 victory in the championship game over second-seeded MIT on Saturday evening at Sidell Stadium.

The Lyons (30-10) have earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament and will make their 12th appearance in program history at the New England Regionals on Wednesday, May 15 in Harwich, Mass. at Whitehouse Field. MIT (23-11) awaits a possible at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. The selection show for the tournament will occur on Sunday, May 12.

At the conclusion of the game, Wheaton senior outfielder Sean Ryan on Norton was named the NEWMAC Most Outstanding Player for the second-straight season. Ryan batted .500 (6-for-12) in the tournament with four runs scored, two doubles, three RBI, a .538 on-base percentage, a .667 slugging percentage and a perfect fielding percentage in 12 total chances (all put outs). Ryan scored the game-tying run against Coast Guard in a come-from-behind triumph over the Bears in the first game of the NEWMAC Tournament and knocked in a pair of insurance runs versus MIT in game three of the tournament to make the score 10-6 at the time. The Lyons went on to win the contest 11-8.

Former Oliver Ames standout Ryan Grant earned the save by working the ninth. The junior gave one one earned run, one hit, one walk and had a strikeouts. 

Walpole's Matt Lavancy, a freshman, went 1 for 3 with two runs scored from the leadoff spot. 

Senior Frank Holbrook got the win to improve to 8-1 on the season.