Solid pitching, big bats lead Wheaton to non-conference twinbill sweep

April 18, 2006

NORTON, MA- Wheaton College sophomores Audrey Poulton (Charlestown, RI/Chariho Regional) and Jodi Moynagh (Worcester, MA/Holy Name Central Catholic) each spun three-hitters, and the Lyons smacked four home runs during a non-conference doubleheader sweep of Framingham State College, 12-0 in five innings and 4-2 on Tuesday at Clark Field. Wheaton improved to 23-11, while the Rams are now 14-17.

Poulton twirled a gem in game one, fanning eight, walking four and yielding a trio of singles while blanking the Rams for the second time this season. The Lyons struck for a season-high 12 runs to go along with 10 hits, including three doubles and three home runs, the most long balls by Wheaton since March 27, 2003.

Junior Keely Nowosacki (Shrewsbury, MA/Shrewsbury) finished 3-for-3 with five RBI and finished a triple shy of the cycle, sophomore Erika Marini (Pawtucket, RI/Saint Raphael Academy) slugged a home run and scored twice, and freshman Brady Benton (Concord, NH/Concord) launched her first collegiate roundtripper and scored twice. Junior Jessica DePolito (Taunton, MA/Coyle and Cassidy) had two hits, including a double.

After escaping a bases-loaded, two-out situation in the first, Wheaton rattled off five runs in the bottom of the inning, as Nowosacki and Benton sandwiched two-run homers around freshman Emily Hildreth's (Reading, MA/Reading Memorial) sacrifice fly. The Lyons tacked on three more in the second, as Nowosacki drove an RBI single up the middle before Marini launched a two-run shot. Freshman Jessica DeRico (Griswold, CT/Griswold) stroked an RBI single with one down in the third, and Nowosacki capped Wheaton's second straight three-run inning with a two-out, two-run double to right center. DePolito scored on a fourth-inning wild pitch to complete the scoring.

Freshman Elizabeth Ranton (Milton, MA/Milton) finished with two of Framingham State's hits, and junior Nicole Messina (Hanover, MA/Hanover) suffered the loss after allowing 11 runs, seven earned, on nine hits over the first three innings.

Game two was much more a pitcher's duel, as Moynagh and Framingham State sophomore Kelly Knox (Framingham, MA/Framingham) locked up in a scoreless contest through three innings. Moynagh did not allow her first base runner until the top of the fourth, and the Lyons responded in the bottom of the inning by picking up just their second hit, a leadoff home run by Nowosacki.

Pitching with a 1-0 lead, Moynagh had her no-hit bid spoiled with one down in the top of the fifth by sophomore Melissa Howard's (Dudley, MA/Shepherd Hill Regional) single into the hole between short and third. However, Wheaton junior Nicole Lachance (Rochester, NH/Spaulding) responded by adding some much-needed breathing room with a two-out, two-run single into right in the home half.

The Rams' final two hits were solo home runs, as junior Maki Faria (Acton, MA/Acton-Boxborough Regional) went deep in the sixth and classmate Christina Sullivan (Weymouth, MA/Weymouth Vocational Technical) followed suit in the seventh to sandwich runs around Wheaton freshman Katelynn Hanewich's (Bradenton, FL/Lakewood Ranch) sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Lachance was the game's only multiple hitter, going 2-for-3 with a double, while Moynagh fanned eight and walked one. Knox suffered the loss after allowing seven hits, four earned runs, three strikeouts and three walks.

The Lyons host their final home contests against Wellesley College on Friday with a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) doubleheader set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 4/18/06.
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