04/02/2009
Baseball Drops 19-9 Decision to Nationally Ranked Wheaton College

NORTON, MA - The Clark University baseball team dropped a 19-9 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference decision to second ranked Wheaton College at rain-soaked Sidell Stadium Thursday afternoon.

Ranked second nationally by D3baseball.com and first in the region according to the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA), Wheaton remained unbeaten in league play at 5-0 while winning for the 17th time in its last 18 games to improve to 18-2. The Cougars are 8-14 and 1-4.

Sophomore leadoff hitter Eric Laliberte (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) went a perfect 6-for-6 with six RBI and five runs scored to lead the Lyons.

For Clark, sophomore Andrew Agostini (Williamstown, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon School) batted 2-for-3 with two runs, classmate Kevin Kopec (Katonah, NY/Iona Prep) had three RBI, and freshman Nicholas Kellogg (Florence, MA/Northampton) added two. Junior Phillip DiMarco (Bellingham, MA/Bellingham) had three walks, while senior Gregory Long (Milford, MA/Milford) suffered the loss.

Senior southpaw Brian Hughes (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) was impressive on the hill, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning en route to his third victory of the season. He yielded just two hits in seven innings while striking out five batters and walking three with three runs allowed.

The hosts plated multiple runs in five of the first seven frames, including a seven-run seventh that made the score 19-3.

Clark scored six runs in the top of the eighth, but the deficit was too large to overcome.

A two-run double by sophomore Sean Munley (Trenton, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton) provided the Lyons with a quick 2-0 edge in the first before Laliberte's three-run two-bagger extended the lead to 5-0.

Kopec's sacrifice fly drove in a run in the fourth to put the Cougars on the board (1-6). However, junior Jeff Lieneck's (Foxboro, MA/Xaverian Brothers) three-run, dinger made it 9-1 in the bottom of the inning and freshman Dan Haugh's (Andover, MA/Saint John's Prep) two RBI single in the next frame ballooned Wheaton's advantage to 12-1.

Clark's Kopec accounted for another two runs when he connected on his second triple of the season in the sixth, but Wheaton's seven-run seventh cemented the Lyons' win.

Haugh and Munley each finished with two RBI and a walk, while freshman Dan Demeo (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) plated two and scored another off the bench.

Clark will travel to Brandeis University for a non-conference doubleheader on Saturday (Noon).

Portions of release taken from Wheaton College Sports Information