Baseball Defeats Washington & Jefferson 9-1 at RussMatt Invitational

Recap, photo courtesy of Wheaton

GAME ONE: Wheaton 9 - Washington & Jefferson 1

RECORDS: Wheaton (4-1, 0-0 NEWMAC) - W&J (3-2)

LOCATION: Auburndale, Fla. (Lake Myrtle #8)

THE RUNDOWN: 

The Wheaton College baseball team returned to the field Monday afternoon, taking on the 2017 College World Series Runner-Up Presidents of Washington & Jefferson College, in game four of the RussMatt Invitational. The Lyons came out on top, defeating the Presidents, who are also receiving votes in the national rankings, 9-1. 

Willy Boyd and Josh Trybuch both ended the game 2-for-3 from the plate, with each walking one time. Boyd came around to score three times in the contest, while Trybuch crossed home twice while knocking in a run. Bryant Salkind also had a solid day from the plate, going 3-for-4 with three RBI. Conor Gammond finished 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored.

First-year Griffin Young was strong on the mound for the Lyons, giving up just three hits in seven innings of work. Zach Pipa and Andrew Manni both came in in relief.

After holding the Presidents to just two hits in the first three innings, the Lyons got their own bats going in the bottom of the third, plating four runs on four hits and a W&J error. With one out, Boyd reached on a fielding error by the President's second baseman, before stealing second. Trybuch then singled to short, moving Boyd to third, setting up Brody Ashley for the RBI sacrifice fly to left that brought Boyd home. A single up the middle by Gammond and a walk to Nick Raposo loaded the bases for Wheaton. Washington & Jefferson walked in the Lyons next run, handing Jared Sharkey a free base and sending Trybuch home. Salkind drove in the final two runs of the inning with a single to center.

Wheaton tacked on another run in the fourth inning with Boyd scoring on a Trybuch single to left.
Another four-run inning pushed the Lyon lead to 9-0 in the seventh. The inning started with back-to-back walks to Boyd and Trybuch. Boyd would go on to steal third, before the Presidents walked Gammond on a wild pitch, allowing Boyd to come home and both Trybuch and Gammond to move up bases. With runners at second and third, Raposo singled through the right side, driving in both players. The junior catcher moved to second on a wild pitch, before moving to third on a Sharkey single. Salkind followed that with a single of his own that scored Raposo.

Washington & Jefferson earned a run back in the top of the eighth with Ryan Pallone driving in Adam Moore from third with a single in his first at-bat of the season.
THE BASICS:

Hits: Wheaton 12 / W&J 5
Errors: Wheaton 2 / W&J 3
RBIs: Wheaton 8 / W&J 1
Left on Base: Wheaton 5 / W&J 9
Walks: Wheaton 7 / W&J 0
Strikeouts: Wheaton 5 / W&J 13
UP NEXT: The Lyons return to action on Wednesday, March 13 at 9:30 a.m. against Pitt.-Greensburg (Lake Myrtle Main Field) in game five of the RussMatt Invitational.