MANSFIELD, Conn. – Senior lefty Ron Buchetto (Clinton) threw a complete-game four-hitter in the final home start of his career and the Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team rode a four-run first inning to a 5-3 non-conference victory over Wheaton College (MA) Wednesday night at the Eastern Baseball Stadium.

Buchetto (2-3) needed only an hour and 51 minutes to win his first game since March 14, throwing 83 of his 114 pitches for strikes as Eastern (19-13) won a season-high fourth straight game. Wheaton (23-14) entered the game as the second-ranked team in the NCAA Division III New England Region, but ended its regular season with its sixth loss in its final seven games.

Eastern opened the bottom of the first with five straight hits, with senior Alex Zachary (Enfield), sophomore Alex Parkos (Meriden) and freshman John Mesagno (Tappan, NY) -- batting 3-4-5 in the order -- driving in runs with singles and junior D.J. Scavone (Auburn, MA) making it 4-0 with a one-out RBI double.

Buchetto tossed his first complete game since 2015. It was the second complete game by an Eastern pitcher this year and first nine-inning one. Buchetto retired ten straight after Josh LaJoie led off the game with a clean single to center. Buchetto walked Casey Twomey to lead off the fifth, and Tyler Walsh unloaded a two-run home run to left-center to make it 5-2.

Buchetto left two runners in scoring position after the Walsh home run in the sixth and seventh before setting down the final seven without allowing a ball out of the infield. Buchetto fanned eight, walked one and hit two batters.

The third of three Wheaton pitchers, Trevor Marques matched Buchetto over the final five innings. He allowed only one baserunner  – Zachary's flare to center with two out in the fourth – while strikeout out eight. He got seven of nine outs in one stretch on strikeout.

Zachary, Parkos, Mesagno and Scavone each had two hits in Eastern's 11-hit attack. Parkos has now reached in 18 straight games and Zachary in 15.  Sophomore Alexander White (West Hartford) reached safely in his 17th straight game when he opened the first inning with a single, moved to second on senior Pat Sirois' (Cromwell) double, and scored the first run on Zachary's infield single.

Eastern closes out the regular season Thursday with a Little East Conference doubleheader at Keene State College at noon.