Box Score Norton, Mass. - April 13, 2017 - Despite a strong nine inning effort from freshman pitcher Shawn Babineau (Ashland, Mass.), the Springfield College baseball team was defeated 4-3 by Wheaton in 12 innings on Thursday.
With the loss, the Pride is now 10-8 on the season and 4-3 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play, while the Lyons, which were receiving votes in the latest American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/College Baseball National Rankings, is now 15-8 overall with a 6-3 mark in the league
Babineau allowed two earned runs and collected two strikeouts in nine innings, while junior relief pitcher Jack Weinberger (Sunapee, N.H.) came on and kept the Pride's impressive defensive effort alive, pitching 2.2 innings and striking out three.
Offensively, the Pride was led by Kyle Allen (Westerly, R.I.) and Mark Joao (Wappinger Falls, N.Y.), who both registered two hits, while Logan Barrett (Petersham, Mass.) had a team-best two RBI.
Springfield jumped out to an early 2-0 start over the Lyons in the top of the first, when Barrett singled to right-center field to score Chad Shade (Pittsfield, Mass.) and Joao.
After gaining ground by cutting the lead to 2-1 in the bottom half of the first, Wheaton would tie the game at two in the second after a Matt Cook (Harwich, Mass.) single scored Tyler Walsh (Cumberland, R.I.) from second. The Lyons took a 3-2 lead in in the third inning and would hold the Pride bats silent until the top of the ninth, when Brandon Drabinski (Lisbon, Conn.), clubbed a game-tying homerun over the left-field fence.
The contest would extend into extra innings, until Jared Sharkey (West Bridgewater, Mass.) doubled in the bottom of the 12th to score the game-winning run in Zach Goodwin-Boyd (Florence, Mass.).
The Pride will travel to Clark University on Friday, April 14 to play their eighth conference game of the season. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m.
