New London – Wheaton College senior Tyler Contillo looked comfortable at the plate on Tuesday afternoon.

The bushy-haired and bearded Contillo was in familiar territory at Coast Guard Academy's Nitchman Field, playing down the road from Montville High School, his alma mater.

“I love it,” Contillo said. “It’s beautiful down here. I live like 10 minutes up the road. It’s like home. I drive by it almost every day when I’m home.

“It feels good to come back.”

Contillo had a happy homecoming, continuing his recent tear by going 2-for-4 with two RBI in Wheaton’s 10-4 win over Coast Guard.

Batting fifth as the designated hitter, Contillo laced a pair of RBI singles to raise his batting average to .315. He’s the team’s top run producer with 25 RBI in 22 games and also ranks first in doubles (10)

He’s in a nice groove, going 6-for-12 with 11 RBI in the last three games. He had a career-high seven RBI in Wheaton’s 11-2 win over Springfield in the first game of a doubleheader Sunday.

“Honestly, I’m just getting something to drive and jumping on it early and not falling behind in the count,” said Contillo, explaining his hot streak. “I’ve just been doing that approach and it’s been working.”

Contillo spoke like a grizzly veteran, preferring to focus on the team’s success over his individual achievements. He’s trying to do all he can to lead Wheaton to a New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference championship.

“I’m looking at it from the team perspective,” Contillo said. “As long as we’re winning, that’s all I care about. We’re trying to win everything. Unless we win the national championship, we haven’t met our goal.”

Wheaton (18-7, 12-2), a perennial NEWMAC power located in Norton, Mass., can wrap up the best regular season record in the conference and top seed in the conference tournament with a successful three-game series against MIT (14-7, 10-3) this weekend.

The Lyons lost to MIT in the NEWMAC Championship final last season.

Contillo has been part of two NCAA tournament teams at Wheaton, which reached the Division III World Series in 2012 and lost in the New England Regional semifinals in 2013. He’s shooting for a third trip this spring.

No matter what happens, Contillo has thoroughly enjoyed his college experience at Wheaton.

“It’s been more than what I was expecting,” Contillo said. “Coach (Eric) Podbelski does a great job. Everybody is working hard and doing what they need to do. He runs it like a D-I program.

“I've loved every second of it. It’s the best decision that I made in my whole life.”

 g.keefe@theday.com

Twitter: @GavinKeefe