Moynagh blanks WPI as Wheaton splits third straight doubleheader

April 5, 2008

NORTON, MA- Senior Jodi Moynagh (Worcester, MA/Holy Name Central Catholic) tossed a three-hit shutout during Wheaton College's 2-0 victory in the nightcap of a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) softball doubleheader with Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) on Saturday at Clark Field, as the Lyons salvaged a split following a 10-0 loss in six innings during the opener. Wheaton, which returned home from an eight-game road trip, moved to 19-7 overall and 5-3 in the league after splitting its third straight twinbill. The Engineers are now 9-10 and 2-4.

Moynagh, who improved to 10-1 behind her fifth shutout of the spring, recorded her third 10-strikeout contest of the season and walked only one during seven innings. The righty fanned the first five batters of the game before yielding an opposite-field single in the second, the only hit she allowed to WPI's first 17 batters.

Wheaton stranded three runners in scoring position during the opening three frames before breaking through in the fourth. Junior Stacey Kelleher (Brockton, MA/Brockton) doubled with one out, moved up on classmate Lynn Cotto's (Brookfield, CT/Brookfield) single and scored on senior Erika Marini's (Pawtucket, RI/Saint Raphael Academy) single. The Lyons left runners on the corners to end the inning.

In the fifth, junior Brady Benton (Concord, NH/Concord) led off with a line-drive double to center field before coming around two batters later on freshman Rachel Merrick's (Methuen, MA/Central Catholic) RBI single, and the Lyons took a 2-0 lead into the top of the sixth.

With her team now up by two, Moynagh yielded back-to-back singles to begin the sixth before retiring the next three batters, with batterymate Cotto hauling in a foul pop for the third out. In the seventh, Moynagh struck out the first Engineer, fielded a popup for the second out and induced a game-ending groundout.

Six different Lyons had hits, as Benton, Kelleher and senior Audrey Poulton (Charlestown, RI/Chariho Regional) each doubled. Senior Heather Hassett (Oxford, MA/Oxford) pitched well in defeat for WPI, yielding two earned runs in six innings with one walk and three strikeouts.

In the opener, Wheaton lost to a NEWMAC team by the eight-run mercy rule for the first time since 2000. WPI scored three runs in the first inning, two in the fourth and five in the sixth.

Benton went 2-for-3 to lead the Lyons, while four others had a hit. Sophomore Andrea Bagley (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro) yielded three runs on six hits with two strikeouts in 2.1 frames, while freshman Courteney Collier (Bolton, MA/Nashoba Regional) allowed the remaining runs on four hits in 3.2 innings.

Senior Nicole DeCampo (Stoneham, MA/Stoneham) and junior Nicole Maglione (Charlton, MA/Saint Peter-Marian) each doubled and homered for WPI, as Maglione was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, while DeCampo went 2-for-4 with three runs and three RBI. Junior Jen Richards (Hampstead, NH/Pinkerton Academy) doubled twice, and classmate Sara Migdal (Galway, NY/Galway) hit a three-run home run. Freshman southpaw Lindsay Brown (Westfield, NJ/Westfield) yielded six hits and fanned three without walking a batter during her shutout effort.

The Lyons host Smith College tomorrow for a NEWMAC doubleheader that begins at 1:00 p.m.

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