LEESBURG, Fla. -- The Wheaton College softball team tied the game in the fifth, but Western New England University got a sacrifice fly in the eighth to come away with a 3-2 victory tonight at the Sleepy Hollow Sports Complex in Leesbury, Fla. as part of the Spring Games. The Lyons fall to 0-1 in their season opener, while the Golden Bears improve to 1-0.

Senior shortstop Katelyn Barton (Andover, N.H.) paced the Wheaton offense, going 2-3 with a walk and a run batted in, while senior starting pitcher Sarah Pritchard (Malta, N.Y.) was 1-2 with an RBI. First year center fielder Grace DiBacco (Selkirk, N.Y.) reached base twice with a single and a walk in four plate appearances. Senior relief pitcher Emma Candelaria (Hampton Bays, N.Y.) was saddled with the loss, hurling four innings, while allowing an unearned run on five hits and a walk to go with a strikeout. Pritchard gave up two earned runs on five hits and a walk, while fanning a batter in three and one-third innings of work.

Senior second base Dina DiBlasio (Norwalk, Conn.) led Western New England with a game-high three hits in four at-bats and junior third base Kalley Carrano (West Haven, Conn.) was 2-4 with a run batted in and a run scored. Sophomore Madison Mason (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) smacked a triple and knocked in a run. First year relief pitcher Ava Blanchard (New Hartford, Conn.) picked up the win for the Golden Bears, hurling three and two-thirds of two-hit ball without a run allowed and three strikeouts. Junior starting pitcher Megan Beebe (Ellington, Conn.) allowed two runs on on five hits and three walks to go with seven strikeouts in three and a third innings.

First year Alyssa Poisson (Chelmsford, Mass.) began the bottom of the eighth on second base as part of the international tie-breaker for Western New England and moved to third on a single off the bat of junior left fielder Paige Baca (Loma Linda, Calif.). Sophomore catcher Lizzie Weston (Ridgewood, N.J.) plated the winning run with a sacrifice fly to give the Golden Bears a 3-2 win.

Sophomore left fielder Allison Weston (West Islip, N.Y.) led off the fifth with a single to left center before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt. Barton came through with a single to center to drive home Weston and knot the game at 2-2 for the Lyons.

Wheaton got on the board in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead. DiBacco and Barton drew back-to-back one-out walks to set up a run-scoring single to center field from Pritchard.

Western New England responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 2-1 edge. Junior first base Cori Rizzo (Methuen, Mass.) ripped a triple to right center and came around to score on a two-out single up the middle from Carrano to tie the game at 1-1. Mason gave the Golden Bears the lead with an RBI triple down the right field line to score Carrano.

The Lyons return to action tomorrow when they take on Rutgers University-Camden at 3:15 p.m. at Legends Way Ballfields in Clermont, Fla., while Western New England plays Wesleyan University at 9:45 a.m. at Hancock Park in Clermont.