NORTON, MA- Wheaton College softball freshman Megan Roy's (North Dighton, MA/Dighton-Rehoboth Regional) first
career home run broke a seventh-inning tie during the Lyons' opener
with Bridgewater State College on Friday before the Bears held on
for a 12-7 victory in game two at Clark Field. Wheaton served as
the visiting team after the twinbill was moved from Bridgewater
State due to unplayable field conditions. The second contest was
called after five innings due to darkness.
Now 12-4 on the year, the Lyons received a complete-game effort
in the first contest from sophomore Lesley Warn (Portland,
ME/Deering), who yielded one unearned run on seven hits
while striking out six and walking two. Classmate Amanda Poplaski (North Reading, MA/North Reading) was 2-for-4,
while junior catcher Nicole DeRosa (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich
Academy) doubled.
Sophomore Jordan McDermott (East Bridgewater, MA/East
Bridgewater) was 3-for-4 with two steals for the 7-8
Bears, while senior Jamie Ducinski (Duxbury,
MA/Duxbury) earned a no-decision despite allowing one
unearned run in five innings on four hits. Junior Tracey
Sanko (Windsor, CT/Windsor) took the loss after yielding
one hit - Roy's home run - in two frames.
The Bears struck for an unearned run in the home half of the
first, and Wheaton loaded the bases with one out in the second but
came away empty. After Poplaski's line RBI single into the circle
and off of Ducinski with two down in the fifth knotted the contest,
Bridgewater State put runners at second and third with no one out
in the home half, but Warn induced two pop-ups and a groundout to
end the threat.
With one down in the seventh, Roy drilled a 1-2 pitch over the
left field fence to give Wheaton its first lead. McDermott led off
the bottom half with a bunt single before stealing second and Warn
fanned the next two batters, but McDermott was cut down by DeRosa
trying to swipe third for the final out.
In a wild game two, the squads combined for 19 runs on 16 hits
while drawing 12 walks and committing eight errors. Freshmen
Brittany Calarese (Norwood, MA/Norwood) and
Amanda Drury (Tolland, CT/Tolland) each went
2-for-3 for the Lyons, as Drury swiped two bases, and classmate
Alanna Monahan (Dorchester, MA/Southfield School)
walked twice and stole a pair of bases. Poplaski walked twice,
while Warn took the loss after allowing seven earned runs in 2.1
frames.
For Bridgewater State, senior Meghan Noyes (Stoughton,
MA/Stoughton) went 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBI,
while junior Casey Hill (Randolph, MA/Norfolk County
Agricultural) was 2-for-3 with two RBI. Ducinski earned
the victory in relief despite allowing three runs in 1.2
innings.
The Bears scored three times on two hits and a miscue in the
first before Warn escaped a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the
second unscathed. Wheaton responded with two unearned runs with two
down in the third, as Calarese's RBI double made it 3-2.
Bridgewater State took control in the bottom half, plating nine
runs on six hits and three errors while sending 13 batters to the
plate. Hill had a pair of run-scoring hits in the frame, while
Noyes contributed a two-run single. Wheaton trimmed away at the
12-2 deficit with two runs in the fourth and three more in the
fifth, but the contest was halted after the fifth with daylight
nearly gone.
The Lyons host Springfield College tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. for a
New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC)
doubleheader.
