2007 NEWMAC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT - Sixth-seeded Wellesley pulls second upset in slugfest over number two Wheaton, 11-8

April 25, 2007

NORTON, MA- The sixth-seeded Wellesley College softball team scored in all but one inning and plated a season-high run total with its second upset of the day, an 11-8 victory over second-seeded Wheaton College in the second round of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament on Wednesday at Clark Field. The Lyons are 24-15 and will need to climb out of the loser's bracket, as they face number four Smith College at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday at Springfield College. The Blue is 20-12 after also downing third-seeded Babson College on Wednesday and will take on top seed Springfield on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

In what was expected to be a duel between the NEWMAC's top two strikeout pitchers in Wellesley junior Jenna Harvey (London, Ontario/Clarke Road Secondary) and Wheaton junior Jodi Moynagh (Worcester, MA/Holy Name Central Catholic), respectively, a duo which is among the top four in winning percentage, the teams combined for 20 hits and 11 walks. Inclement weather throughout also led to eight errors and 11 wild pitches.

Two errors and freshman Alex Warren's (Delta, British Columbia/South Delta Secondary) solo home run gave the Blue a 2-0 lead in the first, but junior Audrey Poulton's (Charlestown, RI/Chariho Regional) RBI single put the Lyons on the board in the bottom half. After Wellesley scored in the second, Poulton plated another run with a single in the third, but sophomore Amanda Tai's (Melrose, MA/Melrose) run-scoring double in the fourth put the visitors back up by two. The Lyons put together the first of two rallies in the bottom half, as freshman Merry MacDonald (Braintree, MA/Braintree) launched a two-out, two-run home run to knot the score at four, swatting just the second longball off Harvey in nearly 120 innings this season. After freshman Megan Wood (Jacksonville, FL/The Bolles School) tripled and scored in the fifth for the Blue, junior Erika Marini (Pawtucket, RI/Saint Raphael Academy) sent a two-out RBI single down the left field line in the bottom half to make it 5-5.

Wellesley responded with four two-out runs in the sixth, as Wood's two-run double was the big blow. The Lyons loaded the bases with two down in the sixth, but junior Kristie Gola (Bordentown, NJ/Holy Cross) put out the fire in relief to keep the Blue up by a 9-5 count. After two Wellesley runs scored in the seventh, Wheaton tallied three times, as senior Nicole Lachance (Rochester, NH/Spaulding) poked a two-run double and classmate Jessica DePolito (Taunton, MA/Coyle and Cassidy) beat out a run-scoring infield single. However, with two on and two out, the Blue turned a bang-bang play at third to end it.

Lachance finished with two hits, two runs and two RBI, Poulton went 2-for-3 with two RBI and two walks, while DePolito had two hits and two walks. MacDonald scored twice, drove in two and walked twice. Moynagh fanned seven and walked two in 5.2 innings, while Poulton was shouldered with the loss after giving up four runs in 1.1 frames in her first appearance in 11 days. Wood went 2-for-5 with three runs and two RBI, Tai was 2-for-2 with two runs, and Warren was 2-for-3 with two RBI. Harvey earned the win despite giving up five earned runs on six hits in 5.2 innings with seven strikeouts and eight walks, while Gola notched a save after fanning two in 1.1 frames.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 4/25/07.
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