Late rally in nightcap sends Wheaton to sweep, 4-0 record in Florida

March 9, 2008

FORT MYERS, FL- Senior Erika Marini's (Pawtucket, RI/Saint Raphael Academy) 100th career hit, an RBI triple, capped a five-run sixth inning as the Wheaton College softball team rallied past Wilmington College of Ohio, 7-6 in a nightcap on Sunday after the Lyons had earlier defeated Albion College of Michigan, 8-1 during the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic at the Cape Coral Sports Complex. Wheaton is 4-0 on the season.

During the Lyons' first contest, with Albion, which was playing its season opener, senior Jodi Moynagh (Worcester, MA/Holy Name Central Catholic) fanned the side in the top of the first inning before the Blue and White broke out for seven runs in the bottom half. A Marini three-bagger started things off before she came home on senior Alix Brozman's (Chappaqua, NY/Horace Greeley) sacrifice fly. Moynagh later stroked a two-run single up the middle before the final four runs came home without aid of an RBI, making it 7-0. In all, the Lyons rapped out four hits during the frame and took advantage of four errors.

The game was fairly even following the first inning, as each team plated one run during the final six frames, while Albion held a 5-3 edge in hits. After the Britons scored in the second, freshman Rachel Merrick's (Methuen, MA/Central Catholic) third-inning RBI single put Wheaton back in front by seven.

Marini and junior Stacey Kelleher (Brockton, MA/Brockton) finished with two hits apiece, while freshman Julie Murray (Canton, MA/Canton) scored twice. Moynagh improved to 2-0 after yielding five hits and two walks with eight strikeouts during a complete game. Albion junior Amber Hummel (Indiana, PA/Indiana) gave up eight runs, four earned, on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts in six innings.

Against 2-4 Wilmington, junior Brady Benton (Concord, NH/Concord) came home with Wheaton's first run on a second-inning error after singling, but that proved to be the Lyons' lone hit during the opening four frames. In the meantime, Lady Quaker sophomore Stefanie Tirey's (Bellbrook, OH/Bellbrook) RBI single in the top of the third inning tied the game, and Wilmington plated three runs on three hits in the fourth.

After Wheaton scored once in the bottom of the fourth, the Lady Quakers plated two more runs in the fifth on consecutive two-out RBI singles to go ahead 6-2. Similar to how the day began in the first inning against Albion, the Lyons bunched their offense into a big inning against Wilmington, scoring five runs on four hits in the sixth. Benton smacked a run-scoring single during the frame, while Merrick and senior Audrey Poulton (Charlestown, RI/Chariho Regional) each laid down suicide squeezes to make it 6-5. With two down, freshman Nicole DeRosa (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich Academy) ripped a game-tying RBI double down the left-field line, and Marini plated her one pitch later with a triple to right center.

Freshman hurler Courteney Collier (Bolton, MA/Nashoba Regional), who entered the game in the fifth inning, retired the final seven batters she faced, including all three in the seventh, aided by Marini's leaping stab at third base for the second out of the final frame.

Benton went 2-for-3 with two runs, Kelleher scored twice, and freshman Kristen Hunt (Milford, CT/Jonathan Law) had two of Wheaton's five stolen bases. Collier notched her first college victory, yielding two runs on three hits in three innings. Sophomore Andrea Bagley (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro) went the first four frames, giving up four runs, two earned, while fanning four and walking only one. For Wilmington, junior Amanda Smith (Delaware, OH/Delaware Hayes) went the distance, giving up five earned runs on six hits.

Wheaton continues its stretch of 12 games in six days tomorrow by facing Eastern Nazarene College at 9:00 a.m. and Drew University at 11:00 a.m.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 3/10/08.
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