Wheaton earns split with two-time defending tournament champ Babson

April 6, 2007

NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College softball team split a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) doubleheader on Friday with two-time defending league tournament champion Babson College, winning 13-1 in five innings before dropping a 4-2 decision. The Lyons have won eight of 10, including six via the eight-run mercy rule, and are now 14-10 overall and 6-2 in the league. Babson is 13-8-1 and 3-1.

In the opener, the Lyons plated seven runs in the second inning and five more in the third. Wheaton batted around in the second, recording six hits while the visitors committed three errors. Junior Audrey Poulton (Charlestown, RI/Chariho Regional) led off with a double before coming around on freshman Merry MacDonald's (Braintree, MA/Braintree) one-out single. Senior Nicole Lachance (Rochester, NH/Spaulding) then launched a three-run home run off the top of the right field scoreboard for her fourth long ball of the spring. Two more runs scored before sophomore Brady Benton (Concord, NH/Concord) doubled in the final run. Wheaton tallied four hits the next inning, as sophomore Stacey Kelleher (Brockton, MA/Brockton), Poulton and Benton smacked RBI singles. Lachance capped the offensive output with an RBI double in the fourth.

Junior Jodi Moynagh (Worcester, MA/Holy Name Central Catholic) earned the win while allowing one earned run on six hits with two strikeouts. Lachance finished 2-for-4 with four RBI and two runs, while Kelleher, Poulton and junior Alix Brozman (Chappaqua, NY/Horace Greeley) each had two hits and scored twice. Benton collected two hits and two RBI, while senior Jessica DePolito (Taunton, MA/Coyle and Cassidy) scored twice.

Senior Andrea Cartullo (Holbrook, MA/Cardinal Spellman) recorded two of Babson's six hits, including a double, while freshman Brittney Russo (Middletown, CT/Mercy) provided a pinch-hit RBI single in the fourth. Senior Stacy Schlicht (Hillsborough, CA/Notre Dame) suffered the loss after yielding seven runs, but only four earned, in 1.2 innings on five hits with two strikeouts.

In the second game, the Lyons twice rallied from one-run deficits, only to see Babson score twice in the seventh and withstand a Wheaton comeback attempt in the bottom half. Cartullo walked to lead off the game before scoring on senior Alex Lazar's (Milton, MA/Milton) two-out single later in the first. The hosts knotted the score in the fifth, as junior Erika Marini (Pawtucket, RI/Saint Raphael Academy) led off with a double, moved up on junior Meredith Gorton's (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) sacrifice and scored on MacDonald's bunt.

Babson took the lead right back the next inning in identical fashion. Lazar doubled leading off, moved to third on junior Jess Byrn's (Safety Harbor, FL/Countryside) sacrifice and scored on senior Darcy Lantz's (Kingston, PA/Wyoming Valley West) bunt. The Lyons again regrouped, as Brozman singled leading off the sixth and scored on Kelleher's double. DePolito singled to put two on with none out, but the hosts came up empty.

Cartullo's RBI double put Babson back up in the seventh, and Byrn's two-out RBI single added insurance. In the bottom of the inning, Gorton reached on a miscue before Lachance drew a one-out walk, but the final two Lyons were set down, including the final Wheaton batter on a long drive to within a few feet of the fence in left.

Seven different Lyons had one hit in the second game, as Benton, Kelleher and Marini each doubled. Poulton took the loss after giving up four runs on 10 hits. For Babson, Lazar was 3-for-4, as she and Cartullo each doubled. Freshman Danielle Liska (Seymour, CT/Seymour) allowed two runs on seven hits with four strikeouts.

Wheaton takes on Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) tomorrow in a doubleheader beginning at 12:00 p.m. The twinbill was originally scheduled to be played in Worcester but was moved due to poor field conditions.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 4/6/07.
Questions about this page? Use our query form.

News

Wheaton graduate Powers selected to guide Lyon softball program (more)

Kelleher becomes ninth Wheaton softball player to be named All-American (more)

Kelleher and Moynagh each earn NFCA All-New England accolades (more)

Upcoming Schedule

7-12-Mar Sat-Thu Spring Trip N TBA
19-Mar Thu Bridgewater St. (2) H 3:00pm
21-Mar Sat Coast Guard (2) H 12:00pm