NORTON, Mass.— Sophomore Kevin Matos (Lawrence, Mass.) ripped an RBI double to ignite a three-run sixth-inning rally and No. 11 D3baseball.com/No. 14 Collegiate Baseball/ABCA Wheaton College went on to defeat Babson College, 4-1, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) baseball action Friday afternoon at Sidell Stadium.

With the loss, Babson had its two-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 22-14 overall and 10-5 in the conference while Wheaton won its sixth straight game and clinched the NEWMAC regular season crown, improving to 30-5 overall and 14-1 in conference play.

Seniors Michael Cook (Whitman, Mass.) and Patrick Manning (Weymouth, Mass.) had two hits apiece for the Beavers, and graduate student Jack Pirkl (Brightwaters, N.Y.) and junior Ike Kiely (Falmouth, Maine) had one each in the loss. First-year Chris Basile (Miami Beach, Fla.) knocked in the lone Beaver run and senior Tim Noone (Needham, Mass.) dropped to 4-2 on the mound, going 6.0 innings and allowing four runs on eight hits, walking one and striking out four.

Senior Cavan Brady (Sheffield, Mass.) and junior AJ Guindon (Coventry, R.I.) had two hits apiece for the Lyons, with Guindon cracking his second home run of the season to lead off the bottom of the first. Sophomores Tommy Beauregard (Salem, Mass.) and Anthony Teberio (Andover, Mass.) each had a hit and an RBI in the win. Sophomore Ryan McCarroll (Clifton Park, N.Y.) pitched 6.1 innings and gave up just one run on six hits to earn the win, fanning three, and senior Zach Nichols (Chicopee, Mass.) pitched a perfect ninth inning for his fourth save.

After Guindon's first-inning home run, Babson tied the score with a run in the fifth inning. Manning singled to center and Pirkl reached on a bunt single to put two runners on. Junior Tanner Santos (Bethany, Conn.) executed a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners, and Manning raced home on Basile's infield grounder.

Noone recovered from the lead-off home run to shut down Wheaton over five innings, but the Lyons got to him in the sixth. Matos delivered the RBI double, Teberio brought home a run with an infield grounder and Beauregard capped the rally with an RBI single to right.

The Beavers had a chance to get back into the game in the seventh, loading the bases with one out as Manning singled, Pirkl walked and Santos was hit by a pitch, but reliever Max Pierce (Scituate, R.I.) induced a double play grounder to end the threat. Pierce then got the Beavers out in order in the eighth inning and Nichols retired the side 1-2-3 in the ninth to clinch the win.

The two teams will play again on Saturday in a doubleheader at Govoni Field in Babson Park, beginning at 10 a.m.

GAME NOTES
• Babson has dropped its last seven games against the Lyons and is now 32-53 all-time against Wheaton in a series that dates back to 1998.
• After reaching base twice on a walk and a hit-by-pitch, Santos has reached safely in 32 of his last 34 games.
• Savage and Basile both had their on-base streaks snapped, Savage at 15 straight games and Basile at 11. Kiely and senior Jackson Kelly (Wenonah, N.J.) now have the longest on-base streaks on the team at seven games.