NORTON, Mass. (courtesy Wheaton College sports information) - The Brandeis baseball team's five-game winning streak came to a halt today at the hands of Wheaton College and head coach Eric Podbeslki (Class of 1991), 6-0, in Norton. Lyon rookie hurler Nick Filloramo (Rochester, Mass,/Old Rochester Regional) tossed a gem during at Sidell Stadium, as the righthander fired a complete-game shutout with two strikeouts and no walks while facing just four batters over the minimum.
Winners in 12 of 14 games, the Lyons, who are receiving national votes in the latest D3baseball.com poll, improved to 16-6, while the Judges had fell to 15-11 and were unable to exceed their longest winning streak of the season.
Sophomore Nick Cortese (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Baldwin School of Puerto Rico) was Brandeis' lone multiple hitter, finishing 2-for-4, while classmate Mike Swerdloff (Scarsdale, N.Y./Ardsley) took the loss after yielding four earned runs on six hits with six strikeouts and one walk over 7.1 innings.
Allowing just six singles, Filloramo remained perfect at 4-0. Junior leadoff hitter Hal Landers (Salem, N.H./Salem) sparked Wheaton's offense early, going 3-for-4 with two runs, an RBI and a triple. Sophomore Eric Jensen (Gorham, N.H./Gorham) also went 3-for-4 with a run, while junior Dan Haugh (Andover, Mass./Saint John's Prep) continued his torrid pace with a two-run homer in the eighth.
The Lyons manufactured their initial run in the first, with Landers singling to lead off and stealing second before coming around to score on an infield throwing error during a sacrifice bunt. Wheaton tacked on two more runs in the third, as freshman Joe Carlier (Rockland, Mass./Rockland) picked up his first collegiate hit before eventually scoring when Landers ripped a triple over the outstretched reach of the right fielder. Landers made the score 3-0 after being plated on a wild pitch.
Wheaton added its fourth run when senior Hadi Raad (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y./Hastings) walked to begin the fifth frame, advanced to third on Landers' third hit of the day and scored on a groundout to first. Meanwhile, Filloramo retired 10 batters in a row from the fourth through seventh innings before running into trouble in the eighth.
The Judges placed their first two runners on the corners, but Filloramo picked up a huge out in fanning his next batter before inducing an inning-ending double play to keep the shutout intact. Haugh's two-run blast over the left center field fence in the eighth completed the scoring.
Brandeis will try to bounce back tomorrow when they host UMass Dartmouth in a noon doubleheader.