Walpole's Lavanchy, Wheaton College Ready for NCAA D-3 Baseball Tournament

The second-seeded Wheaton College baseball team, ranked No. 15 overall in the latest D3baseball.com national poll, made its 12th appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament in program history Wednesday when the Lyons took the took the field against seventh-seeded Salem State University in Harwich at Whitehouse Field.

Wheaton College defeated Salem State, 5-3 Wednesday to advance in the D3 tournament. Walpole's Matt Lavancy, who entered Wednesday's game with a .369 average, 30 runs scored, eight doubles, six triples, one home run and 26 RBI, went 0-for-4 against Salem State but battled back from an 0-2 count to earn a bases loaded walk to  tie the game at one in the bottom of the second.

Lavanchy ranks 12th nationally in triples and 36th overall in triples per game.

Wheaton (31-10) earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament after claiming its 13th New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) title in the 15-year history of the league with a 6-3 victory in the championship game over MIT on Saturday, May 4 at Sidell Stadium.

The Vikings (25-13) also received an automatic bid into the New England Regional winning their second-ever Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) championship, and first since 2006, over Westfield State by a 5-0 score on Sunday, May 5.

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