NORTON, Mass. — Junior center fielder Juliette Zito (Woodbridge, Conn.) collected three more hits and drove in a pair of runs, while first-year pitcher Sofia De La Rosa (Middle Village, N.Y.) registered her first collegiate victory to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) softball team to a 5-2 victory over Clark University this afternoon in the second game of a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference doubleheader at Clark Softball Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass. Today's two-game series between Wheaton and Clark was a designated pair of home contests for the Cougars.
The Lyons have won five straight and eight of their last nine to improve to 12-9 overall and a perfect 6-0 in NEWMAC play for their best conference start since 2015 when they won their first 11 league contests to begin the slate. The Cougars fall to 5-13 and 0-4.
Wheaton out-hit its opponent 13-6. The Lyons have now tallied at least 10 hits in three straight games and have limited their opponents to six hits or fewer during the previous three games. Wheaton also compiled a season-high five doubles.
Zito's hot bat from the day's first game carried into the nightcap, going 3-4 with a pair of doubles, a walk, a run scored and a stolen base. Throughout the entire day of the two-game series Zito batted 6-8 with four doubles, one home run, three RBI, one walk, one run scored, and a stolen base. Junior right fielder Jillian Rohon (Southington, Conn.) went 2-4 with a pair of doubles and two runs scored. Sophomore catcher Riley Dolan (Coram, N.Y.) was 2-3 and scored a run, while senior second base Bryanna Agan (Averill Park, N.Y.) went 2-3 with a walk. Agan was excellent in the field, recorded a diving catch towards her right on a line drive in the bottom of the second inning and was the catalyst for a big double play in the fifth.
De La Rosa pitched her first career complete game allowing six hits and two runs, while walking just one batter. After surrendering a lead-off hit to begin the game in the bottom of the first inning, De La Rosa retired 16 consecutive Cougar batters through her first five and a third innings pitched.
Clark's lone two runs of the game were driven in by senior catcher Rebecca Mauro (Easton, Conn.), who went 1-3 with a double and two RBI. First-year right fielder Charlise Quigley (Long Beach, N.Y.) and sophomore center fielder Emelie Spence (Margate, Fla.) each went 1-3 and scored a run. Sophomore pitcher Brooke Buzzeo (Trumbull, Conn.) got the start and pitched five innings, striking out one batter, walking two batters, and allowing four earned runs.
Following two scoreless innings, Zito provided an offensive spark for Wheaton in the top of the third inning when she smashed a lead-off double to right center field. Zito was moved 60 feet closer to scoring position at third base, when first-year shortstop Ella Molinari (Grafton, Mass.) flew out to center field. Despite having her season-long nine-game hitting streak snapped, first-year designated player Taylor Barry (Hadley, Mass.) registered a sacrifice fly to deep right field, which allowed Zito to tag and advance home to give Wheaton a 1-0 lead.
The Lyons responded again in the top of the fourth inning when Dolan ripped a single up the middle. Rohon followed with a two-out double to push Dolan over to third. Zito proved to be in the right place at the right time again, whacking a two-run double to left field, scoring Dolan and Rohon to push the Wheaton lead to 3-0.
With a 3-0 shutout still intact for the Lyons, Wheaton got the offense going again at the top of the sixth inning. Rohon recorded her second double of the game to left center field. Zito then added her third hit of the contest on a single to left field to push Rohon to third. Molinari added an RBI on a ground ball towards the right side of the infield, which scored Rohon to make the score 4-0.
After managing just one hit through the first 16 outs of the game, the Cougars bats started to come alive in the bottom of the sixth. Clark enjoyed its most productive inning of the day, generating three hits and a walk. After back-to-back hits by Spence and Quigley, the Cougars answered with their first two runs of the game when Mauro smashed a two RBI double down the left field line to chip into the Wheaton lead 4-2.
The Lyons added one more run at the top of the seventh inning when first-year outfielder Gabby Reinbold (Sharon, Mass.) reached base via a walk. Wheaton took advantage of an infield error by the Cougars, which allowed Reinbold to score her first collegiate run to give Wheaton the 5-2 advantage.
Wheaton returns to action on Friday, April 12 at 3:00 p.m. when it will host rival Massachusetts Institute of Technology in a NEWMAC doubleheader at the Clark Softball Field. Clark will play again on Wednesday, April 10 at 3:00 p.m., when it travels to take on the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. for a NEWMAC doubleheader.
