NORTON, Mass. - The Springfield Pride earned a 10-2 win over the Wheaton College softball team Saturday afternoon in game one of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) double-header at Clark Softball Field. The Lyons battled back to take the second game 9-8 in extra innings.   

GAME ONE: Wheaton 2 - Springfield 10 
Springfield opened the game with a three run first inning and never looked back, holding the lead the entire contest. 

Talia Loda picked up her 14th win of the season for Springfield, pitching seven complete innings, striking out four, while giving up just two runs on six hits. Danielle Cimino and Shelbi Wilson split time on the mound for the Lyons with Cimino getting the start and the loss.  

Kirsten Drobiak knocked in the first run with an RBI ground out that sent Loda home. Loda led off the inning with a walk. Carianna Gasdia and Allie Wheeler both came around to score the final two runs of the inning. 

Springfield tacked on three more runs in the third inning with RBI singles from Sam Cox and Loda and an RBI triple from Alexyss Conley. The Pride made it a 8-0 game in the top of the sixth Drobiak scoring on a bases loaded walk to Conley and an RBI single from Cox. 

Wheaton finally put some runs on the board in the bottom half of the sixth, starting with an RBI sacrifice fly from senior Rebecca Seifert. Senior Morgan Walsh knocked in the Lyons second run with a double to center that scored senior Mary DeMoura. 

The Pride earned the two runs back in the top of the seventh back-to-back RBI doubles from Drobiak and Wheeler. 

GAME TWO: Wheaton 9 - Springfield 8 (8 Innings)
With the game tied 8-8 in the bottom of the eighth inning, heads up base running by the Lyons sent Chloe Woodward home on a foul out by DeMoura, earning Wheaton the extra inning victory. 

Cimino picked up the win after coming in to pitch the final 2.1 innings, while Loda collected the loss for the Pride. 

Like they did in the opening game, the Pride posted three runs in the top of the first inning, this time with a three-run shot over the fence in left from Drobiak. 

Wheaton cut the deficit to two runs in the bottom half of the inning with Walsh coming around on a double to left center from senior Caroline Fairbanks. 

A double down the left field line from Walsh in the third inning pulled Wheaton within a run of the Pride. Fairbanks gave the Lyons their first lead of the day moments later with a two-RBI single up the middle that plated Walsh and Seifert. 

The Pride countered in the fourth inning with three runs on four hits. The inning was highlighted by a double to left center from Drobiak that scored two. 

Trailing 6-4, the Lyons recaptured the lead in the fifth with Seifert, Emily Schlapak, Walsh and Jade Assad all coming around to score in the inning. 

The cat and mouse game continued with the Pride plating two runs in the top of the sixth, making it an 8-8 game. Springfield scored both of its runs on a two-run home run down the left field line from Gasdia. 

With the game in extra innings and international tie breaker rules in affect, the Pride moved their runner to third on a ground out to third. However, heads up play from the Lyons pitcher moments later saw runner thrown out at home. 

Wheaton capitalized in the bottom of the eighth with Woodward advancing on a sacrifice bunt by Alexis Havrilla, before being knocked in on the foul out by DeMoura. 

UP NEXT:
The Lyons will host the Smith Pioneers on Sunday, April 23 for a rescheduled NEWMAC double-header. The first game is set to begin at 12 p.m. at Clark Softball Field. 

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