CLERMONT, Fla. – Junior center fielder Grace DiBacco (Selkirk, N.Y.) smacked a pair of doubles and knocked in two runs to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) softball team over Wentworth Institute of Technology, 11-2, this afternoon at Legends Way Field 2 as part of The Spring Games in Clermont, Fla.
The Lyons improve to 1-0 following their season opener, while the Leopards fall to 3-6.
Wheaton rallied for eight runs in the top of the seventh inning to put the game away.
DiBacco was 3-4 in the game and also scored a pair of runs, while senior shortstop Lindsey Oliveira (Westport, Mass.) was 3-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored for the Lyons. Senior third base Amanda Bogardus (Saco, Maine) also drove in two runs and was 1-3 with a run scored. Senior right-hander Sofia Knopf (Norton, Mass.) scattered eight hits and allowed just two runs, while issuing a walk and fanning three batters to earn the win to improve to 1-0, before sophomore reliever Amber Arcand (Millville, Mass.) retired six of eight batters she faced, allowing a harmless single and a hit batter, in two scoreless frames to earn her first save of the year. She recorded two strikeouts and walked a batter in the outing.
Sophomore catcher Kyla Igawa (Long Beach, Calif.) paced Wentworth, going 2-4 with a double, a run scored and a run batted in, while junior first base Katie Kranz (Bedford, Mass.) was 2-3 with a run batted in. First year infielder Kasey Medalia (Tacoma, Wash.) also collected two hits in the game for the Black and Gold. Sophomore starting pitcher Julie Schriver (Moscow, Pa.) (3-4) suffered the loss, yielding seven runs (six earned) on nine hits and four free passes to go with two strikeouts in six innings of work.
Wheaton scored three times in the top of the fourth to erase a 1-0 deficit and take the lead for good at 3-1. Junior right fielder Jillian Rohon (Southington, Conn.) drew a lead-off walk and advanced to third following a single through the right side off the bat of sophomore first base Lily Platt (Hallowell, Maine). Rohon scampered home on a ground out to first by Bogardus to knot the game at 1-1. DiBacco and Oliveira each followed with RBI singles later in the inning to give the Lyons the lead at 3-1.
The Leopards climbed to within a run after Igawa roped a double to left center to begin their half of the fifth, advanced to third on a ground out and was plated with an infield single to shortstop by Kranz to give Wentworth its second run of the contest.
Wheaton broke the game open, sending 13 batteries to the plate and scoring eight of them to take a commanding 11-2 advantage in the top of the seventh. Sophomore Peyton Blankenheim-Brown (Rio Linda, Calif.) drove home a pair of runs with a single, before Rohon doubled to left to put both runners in scoring position. Bogardus reached on an infield single to score Blankenheim-Brown, before Rohon came around to score on a run-scoring single from junior left fielder Juliette Zito (Woodbridge, Conn.) to push the Lyons lead to 8-2. DiBacco knocked in Bogardus with a double and Zito later scored on a sacrifice fly to center field from Oliveira. DiBacco scored the final run of the game on a wild pitch.
The Leopards got on the board first when first year Brianna Miller (West Haven, Conn.) stroked a leadoff single to right-center field, moved to second on a bunt and scored on an Igawa two-out infield single to second base to give them a 1-0 edge.
Wheaton returns to play today at 1:30 p.m. when it faces Arcadia University at Legends Way Ballfields, while Wentworth plays Rutgers University-Camden.
