Lyons open with two wins in Florida, start 2-0 for first time since 2005

March 8, 2008

FORT MYERS, FL- The Wheaton College softball team opened its season by receiving nine strikeouts from senior hurler Jodi Moynagh (Worcester, MA/Holy Name Central Catholic) during a 6-3 win over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) on Saturday before junior Stacey Kelleher's (Brockton, MA/Brockton) sixth-inning RBI single sent the Lyons past Elms College, 1-0 during the nightcap as the Lyons won twice at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic at the Lee County Sports Complex. Wheaton, which kicked off a stretch of 12 games in six days, improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2005.

After yielding a leadoff double to an RPI hitter who ended up scoring in the top of the first inning of game one, Moynagh yielded just one hit to the next 18 batters, at one point fanning four straight. Wheaton knotted the game at one in the bottom half when senior Alix Brozman (Chappaqua, NY/Horace Greeley) scored on a two-out error. The Lyons went ahead for good the following frame when freshman Kristen Hunt (Milford, CT/Jonathan Law) slammed the second college pitch she saw beyond the center field fence for a solo home run.

Hunt's RBI ground-rule double with two down in the third made it 3-1 before she came home on an error, and junior Brady Benton (Concord, NH/Concord) beat out a two-out infield single in the fourth inning to bring another run across. Hunt scored on a passed ball with two outs in the fifth, as five of Wheaton's six runs in the game scored with two down. RPI junior Julianne Bass (Costa Mesa, CA/Newport Harbor) hit a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the sixth to produce the final score. Moynagh fanned the final batter she faced before sophomore Andrea Bagley (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro) came on for the save with a two-strikeout seventh inning.

Brozman went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, while Hunt was 2-for-3 with three runs and two RBI. Benton also went 2-for-3, while Moynagh yielded four hits and no walks during six innings. Freshman Rachel Merrick (Methuen, MA/Central Catholic) joined Hunt in recording her first collegiate hit. Junior Michelle Street (East Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse-Minoa) tagged with the loss for RPI, yielding five runs on nine hits in four innings.

During the second contest, a pair of late defensive plays proved pivotal as the Lyons defeated a team that qualified for the 2007 NCAA Tournament. The Blazers put two runners on base in each of the first three innings, with five reaching scoring position, but Bagley slammed the door each time. After a seven-pitch fourth inning, Bagley was helped by her defense in the top of the fifth. Senior third baseman Erika Marini (Pawtucket, RI/Saint Raphael Academy) went to her backhand with two down, snaring a hard smash by senior Christina Giampetruzzi (Westfield, MA/Saint Mary) with runners at the corners and throwing to first to end the inning. Bagley escaped a two-out situation in the sixth when Marini hauled in a pop with the bases loaded.

A Wheaton runner reached third in each of the first two innings, including on Hunt's two-out triple, but the Lyons did not sustain a threat until the sixth. Brozman led off with a walk, moved to second on Marini's bunt single and to third on a double play before scoring when Kelleher roped the second pitch she saw into center field.

Freshman pitcher Courteney Collier (Bolton, MA/Nashoba Regional) entered the contest in the top of the seventh, when Wheaton came up with its second big defensive play. Elms had one on and one out before Giampetruzzi singled, but center fielder Benton nailed the Blazer runner trying to move up to third base. Collier induced a line-drive out off the bat of the final hitter.

Bagley yielded six singles in six innings of work, striking out two and walking a pair while picking up the win and completing her day with seven scoreless frames. Collier earned the save with a one-hit seventh. Freshmen Nicole DeRosa (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich Academy) and Julie Murray (Canton, MA/Canton) each recorded their first collegiate hit. Giampetruzzi was one of three players with two hits for the Blazers, who stranded 11 runners. First-year pitcher Andrea Ramsdell (Gardner, MA/Gardner) suffered the loss despite giving up five hits.

The Lyons compete again twice tomorrow, facing Albion College of Michigan at 1:00 p.m. and Wilmington College of Ohio at 5:00 p.m.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 3/9/08.
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