FORT MYERS, FL- The Wheaton College softball team extended its
winning streak to four games by knocking off a pair of fellow
Massachusetts foes on Monday, downing Curry College, 3-2 and
Amherst College, 3-1 during the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic at
the Lee County Sports Complex. The Lyons improved to 5-1, as
sophomore Lesley Warn (Portland, ME/Deering)
carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning against the Lord Jeffs
while holding them scoreless for the first 6.2 frames.
In Wheaton's opener against Curry, Warn yielded one earned run
during a complete-game effort, striking out five and walking two
while scattering nine hits, as the Colonels stranded 10. Freshman
Megan Roy (North Dighton, MA/Dighton-Rehoboth
Regional) was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI, junior
Nicole DeRosa (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich Academy)
went 2-for-3, and classmate Katy Salka (Ayer,
MA/Ayer) scored twice. Junior Amanda Peters (East
Bridgewater, MA/East Bridgewater) suffered the loss for
Curry, allowing seven hits and three earned runs with one
strikeout.
Sophomore Valerie Tratner's (Forest Hills, NY/Saint
Francis Prep) two-out single through the right side plated
Salka in the second inning for the game's first run before the
Colonels knotted the game with an unearned run in the third.
However, in the top of the following frame, Roy blasted a double
off the fence in right center, bringing Salka around with what
proved to be the winning run.
With two on and one out in the home half, sophomore center
fielder Amanda Poplaski (North Reading, MA/North
Reading) made a running catch going toward right center,
and with the bases loaded, Warn fanned the final batter. Roy's
sixth-inning RBI single provided a much-needed insurance run, as
Curry came through with a two-out run in the bottom half before
leaving two on. In the seventh, a leadoff single was negated after
Warn retired the 4-5-6 hitters on a strikeout and a pair of fly
balls.
The Lyons took on Amherst for the first time since 2000, as Warn
allowed just the late run on four hits to a squad that pounded out
10 extra-base hits en route to scoring 17 runs during its season
opener on Sunday. Warn fanned two and walked three, while seven
Wheaton players had one hit apiece, including junior
Kristen Hunt (Milford, CT/Jonathan Law), who
blasted her second home run of the season. Freshman Renee Laflam (Concord, NH/Concord) picked up her first
collegiate hit in the seventh, sparking a rally off of Amherst
senior Alex Chang-Graham (San Carlos, CA/Castilleja
School), who allowed one earned run and struck out seven
but took the loss after going 15-3 last spring.
Wheaton left two on base in each the first and second innings
but was held off the board, while third baseman Hunt led a strong
defensive charge behind Warn, making a diving stop in the second
inning before turning in a sliding catch in foul territory in the
third. During the first 4.1 innings, Warn yielded no hits while
allowing only the leadoff batter in the second inning to reach
base.
Amherst broke through in the fifth with its first hit, a single
through the left side with one down, and had two on with one out
before Warn slammed the door. In the top half of the sixth, Hunt
drilled a two-out solo home run well beyond the left center fence
to provide the game's first run, and junior right fielder
Rachel Merrick (Methuen, MA/Central Catholic) made
a running catch to end the home half with a runner at first.
Two more Lyons scampered home on a two-out error in the seventh
to provide them breathing room, as Amherst loaded the bases with
one out in the bottom half and broke the shutout with a sacrifice
fly. With two on and two out, Warn induced a game-ending fielder's
choice to Salka at shortstop, who flipped to Hunt.
The Lyons continue a season-opening run of 12 games in six days
tomorrow against State University of New York at Oswego at 9:00
a.m. and Worcester State College at 11:00 a.m.
