Lyons split with Wellesley, clinch at least a tie for second in NEWMAC

April 20, 2007

WELLESLEY, MA- The Wheaton College softball team clinched at least a tie for second place in the final New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) standings by splitting a doubleheader at Wellesley College on Friday afternoon. The Lyons won the nightcap, 6-4 after falling in the opener, 2-1 in eight innings. Wheaton is now 21-13 overall and 11-5 in NEWMAC play, while the Blue moved to 16-12 and 6-8.

Junior Jodi Moynagh (Worcester, MA/Holy Name Central Catholic) held the Blue hitless over the opening four innings of the first contest, and the Blue and White plated the initial run on sophomore Brady Benton's (Concord, NH/Concord) two-out RBI triple in the fourth inning, which scored Moynagh. Wellesley countered with a run in the fifth frame, as junior Jenna Harvey (London, Ontario/Clarke Road Secondary), the opposing hurler, blooped a single behind second base to begin the frame, and a pair of errors brought her around to score.

Moynagh worked out of trouble in the sixth inning, as runners occupied second and third with one down before the righty struck the next batter out and nabbed a grounder back to the circle. Wheaton had a golden opportunity in the eighth, as the Lyons had runners on second and third with no one out, but Harvey induced three consecutive fly balls to end the threat. In the bottom half, junior Kara Wong's (Milford, MA/Milford) sacrifice fly deep down the left field line plated freshman Megan Wood (Jacksonville, FL/The Bollers School), who had been placed on second to begin the inning due to the International Tiebreaker.

Moynagh yielded just four hits during her 7.1 innings, allowing a pair of unearned runs while striking out six and walking only one. Benton and junior Meredith Gorton (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley) had the only hits off of Harvey, who entered the week ranked second in the NCAA in strikeouts per game. In eight innings, she fanned 15 while walking three. Freshman Alex Warren (Delta, British Columbia/South Delta Secondary) doubled.

During the nightcap, Wheaton came through in the clutch late, as four of the Lyons' runs scored with two out. Senior Jessica DePolito (Taunton, MA/Coyle and Cassidy) led off the second inning with her 10th home run of the season, and freshman Merry MacDonald (Braintree, MA/Braintree) later followed with a two-out RBI single to make it 2-0. Wellesley responded when sophomore Beej Grundlock (Blackwood, NJ/The Peddie School) hit a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom half, and Warren picked up an RBI groundout in the third.

With the Lyons trailing, 3-2, sophomore Stacey Kelleher (Brockton, MA/Brockton) reached on an infield error with one down in the fifth before DePolito and Benton smacked consecutive singles to load the bases. Junior Audrey Poulton (Charlestown, RI/Chariho Regional) followed with an RBI single to plate classmate Erika Marini (Pawtucket, RI/Saint Raphael Academy), who had pinch run for Kelleher, to tie the game at three. The following inning, Kelleher roped a two-out, two-run double into left center before she came home as an insurance run later in the frame. Wong doubled and scored in the seventh to make it 6-4, but freshman Andrea Bagley (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro) fanned the final batter of the game on a full count to clinch the victory.

Poulton finished 4-for-4 with a double, while DePolito had two hits. Her home run made her the fourth Lyon with at least 10 in a season, and it was her 20th career dinger. Wheaton now has 30 longballs on the year, which is one shy of third in program history. Kelleher also went 2-for-4, while Gorton doubled. Bagley picked up the win with seven innings of six-hit ball, as she struck out four and walked one. Wong and Wood each had two hits, while junior Kristie Gola (Bordentown, NJ/Holy Cross) took the loss after giving up four runs in five innings.

With Wheaton's NEWMAC slate complete, the Lyons turn their attention to a pair of non-conference doubleheaders on Clark Field this weekend. Wheaton faces Endicott College tomorrow at 12:00 p.m.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 4/24/07.
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