NORTON, Mass. -- The Wheaton College (Mass.) softball team was unable to come all the way back from a three-run deficit in a 3-2 loss to visiting Massachusetts Institute of Technology in game two of a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference doubleheader today at the Clark Softball Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass. The Lyons dip to 17-13 overall and 6-6 in NEWMAC play, while the Engineers improve to 20-11 and 9-3.

MIT scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a 3-0 lead, before Wheaton scratched out single runs in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings to come within a run.

First year second base Erica Piercey (North Branford, Conn.) collected three hits to lead all players, while sophomore Lindsey Oliveira (Westport, Mass.) was 2-4 with a run scored for the Lyons. Senior shortstop Katelyn Barton (Andover, N.H.) knocked in a run and was 1-3. Senior right-hander Emma Candelaria (Hampton Bays, N.Y.) turned in a solid start, but fell to 9-4 after giving up three runs (two earned) on just four hits and two walks to go with a strikeout. 

Sophomore catcher Katia Pendowski (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) led the Engineers going 1-3 with two runs batted in and a run scored, while sophomore Rylie Spiegel (Bradenton, Fla.) was 1-1 with a walk and a run scored. First year right fielder Kennedy Adkison (San Jose, Calif.) was 2-1 with a walk and a run scored for MIT. First year reliever Katie Katsuyama (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) earned her first collegiate victory for MIT to improve to 1-2 with two and a third innings of relief that saw her yield a run on one hit and five walks to go with a strikeout, while senior left-hander Anya Chase (Wells, Maine) closed out the game giving up one run on four hits in an inning and two-thirds in addition to fanning a pair of batters to earn her first save.

MIT scored the first run of game two in the top of the first, before both teams combined for four runs in the final two innings. Spiegel laced a leadoff single to center in the top of the sixth, before Pendowski crushed her fifth homer of the season over the left field fence to give the Engineers a 3-0 margin. 

The Lyons did some two-out damage of their own in the bottom of the frame to get one of the runs back. Sophomore Amanda Bogardus (Saco, Maine) and first year Juliette Zito (Woodbridge, Conn.) each worked a walk, before Barton came to the plate with two outs and delivered a single through the right side to score Bogardus, but Zito was cut down at the plate to limit Wheaton's rally to one run. 

The home team looked to rally for more in the seventh, but ended up a run short. Oliveira led off the frame with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third ahead of a Jillian Rohan (Southington, Conn.) single to put runners on first and third. Senior Lilly Laganiere (Rochester, N.H.) pinch-ran for Rohan and got hung up between first and second, while Oliveira scored on the play that resulted in Laganiere getting tagged out. Piercey later singled with two outs, but it was to no avail as MIT retired the final Lyon on a pop-up.

The Engineers got on the board in the top of the first when Adkison opened the game with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice, before going to third on a passed ball and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of first year Dana Bell (Bensalem, Pa.).

Wheaton returns to action tomorrow when it hosts Emerson College in a noon NEWMAC twinbill at Clark Softball Field, while the Engineers head to Northampton, Mass. on the same day to take on Smith College in league doubleheader action at the same time.