Wheaton splits pair of extra-inning contests at Eastern Connecticut State

April 11, 2006

WILLIMANTIC, CT- The nationally-ranked Wheaton College softball team split a non-conference doubleheader at Eastern Connecticut State University's Spector Field on Tuesday evening as each contest carried to extra innings. The Lyons fell in game one, 2-1 in 10 innings before regrouping for a 3-2 win in eight frames during the second contest.

Wheaton, ranked 12th in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) poll, moved to 19-8 overall, while the Warriors are now 10-12. In the past 17 games, the Blue and White has gone to extra innings six times, matching its total from the previous 117 contests dating back to 2003.

The Lyons broke a scoreless tie in game one on sophomore pinch-hitter Audrey Poulton's (Charlestown, RI/Chariho Regional) two-out RBI single in the sixth, but junior Samantha Morrow (Tolland, CT/Tolland) notched a two-out RBI single to knot the game in the bottom half. Neither team took advantage of the international tiebreaker during the first two extra innings, and after Wheaton went down in order in the 10th, sophomore Ashley Marchitto (Canton, CT/Canton) drove in the winning run from third with a hit that never left the infield.

Sophomore Jodi Moynagh (Worcester, MA/Holy Name Central Catholic) matched her career high with 11 strikeouts while walking one and allowing only one earned run on four hits during nine innings. She carried a perfect game into the fourth, a no-hitter into the fifth and a shutout into the sixth. Moynagh was saddled with the loss after Poulton allowed Marchitto's game-winning hit, while Eastern Connecticut State senior Lindsay Savelle (Cheshire, CT/Cheshire) went all 10 innings, fanning nine, walking one and allowing an earned run on five hits.

Game two saw the teams lock up in another offensive struggle. Wheaton grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second when freshman Lynn Cotto (Brookfield, CT/Brookfield) flew out to plate a run and junior Nicole Lachance (Rochester, NH/Spaulding) came through with a two-out RBI single. The Warriors countered during the third inning with two runs on two hits, as freshman Rachel Denny's (East Haddam, CT/Nathan Hale-Ray) run-scoring single with two down tied the score.

Both teams put at least one runner on base in each of the final four regulation innings and came away empty before the Lyons broke the deadlock in the eighth. With the bases loaded and one down, sophomore Erika Marini (Pawtucket, RI/Saint Raphael Academy) singled in freshman Katelynn Hanewich (Bradenton, FL/Lakewood Ranch) with what held up as the winning run. It marked the third time this season Marini came through in the Lyons' final at bat by driving home the game-winning run, including the second straight extra-inning contest.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Warriors had a runner placed on second due to the international tiebreaker, but freshman catcher Jessica DeRico (Griswold, CT/Griswold) threw her out trying to steal third for the second out of the inning. Poulton induced a pop up out of the final batter.

Poulton went the route for the Lyons, striking out nine batters and walking only two while yielding two earned runs on six hits. Marini and junior Jessica DePolito (Taunton, MA/Coyle and Cassidy) each went 2-for-3, while DePolito smacked a pair of doubles. Savelle, the second relief pitcher in game two, allowed Wheaton's eighth-inning run and picked up the loss after 1.2 innings of work.

Wheaton heads into action Thursday at Babson College, where the Lyons will resume a suspended New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest at 5:00 p.m. The Blue and White currently leads, 4-1 after four innings.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 4/12/06.
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