Cotto slam in opener, Hunt RBI double in nightcap help Lyons sweep

April 11, 2008

NORTON, MA- Junior Lynn Cotto's (Brookfield, CT/Brookfield) grand slam highlighted an eight-run first inning in the opener, and the Wheaton College softball team scored six straight runs in the nightcap to overcome a deficit as the Lyons swept the United States Coast Guard Academy, 10-0 in five innings and 7-3 on Friday in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) doubleheader on Clark Field. Wheaton is now 25-7 overall and 9-3 in the league, while the Bears fell to 9-19 and 4-8.

In the first contest, the Lyons tallied eight runs on eight hits and three errors during the first inning. Junior Brady Benton (Concord, NH/Concord) led off the frame with a single before capping the outburst with a two-out, two-run home run. After Benton scored Wheaton's first run on a miscue, Cotto plated four by launching her first career home run just inside the left-field foul pole to put her team up 5-0. Seven Lyons picked up hits in the inning. Two more runs came around in the following frame, both scoring on two-out wild pitches.

That offense proved to be more than enough for senior Jodi Moynagh (Worcester, MA/Holy Name Central Catholic), who improved to 14-1 after firing one-hit ball during three innings, yielding just an infield single with one down in the first. She fanned six and did not walk any batters before giving way to classmate Audrey Poulton (Charlestown, RI/Chariho Regional), who allowed three hits and nothing else during the last two frames.

Benton finished 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, while freshman Nicole DeRosa (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich Academy) was 2-for-2 with a double. Nine other Lyons had one hit apiece, while freshman Rachel Merrick (Methuen, MA/Central Catholic) scored twice.

Four Bears had singles, while sophomore Crystal Lee Coonan (North Grafton, MA) took the loss after allowing four earned runs during one inning of work. In relief, junior Katie Murray (Bloomfield Hills, MI) yielded two runs on three hits in three innings, walking four.

During the nightcap, Wheaton scored all of its runs with two down, starting with Benton's RBI double in the second inning that scored freshman Marissa Hobocan (Shelton, CT/Saint Joseph), who had singled leading off. However, the Bears countered with two runs in the fifth, as sophomore Leanna Minton (Antioch, CA) tied the game with a run-scoring single before coming around on freshman Amanda Frederick's (Lebanon, OH) double.

Wheaton rallied from the 2-1 deficit in the bottom half, with junior Stacey Kelleher's (Brockton, MA/Brockton) opposite-field home run knotting the score. After a Merrick single, freshman Kristen Hunt (Milford, CT/Jonathan Law) doubled into the right-field corner to put the Lyons on top, and senior Alix Brozman (Chappaqua, NY/Horace Greeley) knocked an RBI single into left field to complete a three-run inning.

In the sixth, three more runs came home thanks to senior Erika Marini's (Pawtucket, RI/Saint Raphael Academy) RBI single and Merrick's two-run double. The Bears pulled within 7-3 in the seventh on a Frederick RBI double, but Poulton finished off a six-out save by inducing a game-ending popup.

At the plate, Poulton walked twice and picked up her 100th career hit, a single to right field in the second. From the bullpen, she recorded her second save of the season after yielding one run on two hits with two strikeouts in a pair of innings. Sophomore Andrea Bagley (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro) notched the win, allowing one earned run on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts in five innings. Merrick finished 3-for-4 with two RBI, while Kelleher went 2-for-3 with two runs while going deep and smacking one of Wheaton's five doubles.

Minton went 3-for-4 with two runs for Coast Guard, while Frederick had two doubles and two RBI. Coonan yielded seven runs on 12 hits with three walks and one strikeout during a complete-game effort.

Wheaton jumps back into NEWMAC play at Clark University tomorrow at 12:00 p.m.

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