NORTON, Mass. -- Senior shortstop Katelyn Barton (Andover, N.H.) singled home the winning run with one out in the bottom of the seventh to give the Wheaton College (Mass.) softball team a 3-2 win in game one over visiting Smith College in a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference doubleheader this afternoon on the Clark Softball Field. The Lyons improve to 14-11 overall and 5-4 in league play, while the Pioneers fall to 9-15 and 4-5.

The teams combined for just 11 hits in a well-pitched game for both sides. Senior right-handed reliever Sarah Pritchard (Malta, N.Y.) hurled four innings of one-hit, scoreless relief to go with three strikeouts to earn the victory and improve to 4-5 for Wheaton. Barton was 3-4 with a triple and three runs batted in for the Lyons. 

Sophomore relief pitcher Abigail Fletcher (Bethany, Conn.) (1-4) was saddled with the loss for Smith after giving up a run on three hits and a walk to go with a strikeout, while first year center fielder Taylor Ang (San Diego, Calif.) was 1-3 with two runs batted in for the visitors.

The Lyons faced a 2-0 deficit in the opening game, before scoring twice in the fifth to tie the contest and once in the seventh to win it. First year Grace DiBacco (Selkirk, N.Y.) roped a pinch-hit single to left to lead off the bottom of the seventh for Wheaton. She advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, before sophomore second base Bryanna Agan (Averill Park, N.Y.) singled to center field, but Ang threw a strike to the plate to get DeBacco and keep the game tied. Agan had advanced to second on the throw to the plate and was replaced by pinch-runner Emme Conley (Riverside, N.J.). Barton came through when she laced a single just inside the third base bag and down the left-field to bring Conley home with the running run for a 3-2 triumph.

The Pioneers scored two runs in the top of the third to break into the scoring column and take a 2-0 margin. Junior Molly Taketa (Redmond, Wash.) drew a walk to lead off the inning. Two outs later, senior Eryn Lee (Saratoga, Calif.) struck a single up the middle and Ang followed with a two-run double to center to give Smith a 2-0 margin.

The Lyons struggled to get on the board, but were finally able to break through in the fifth with two runs to tie the game. First year center fielder Juliette Zito (Woodbridge, Conn.) ripped a two-out single up the middle and Agan followed her by getting hit by a pitch. Barton delivered a two-run triple down the right field line to knot the score at 2-2.