NORTON, Mass. – Senior left fielder Allison Weston (West Islip, N.Y.) knocked in a career-high four runs and senior starting pitcher Sofia Knopf (Norton, Mass.) allowed just one run on four hits to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) softball team over visiting Emerson College, 6-1, this afternoon in the first game of a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference doubleheader at Clark Softball Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 21-15 overall and 14-5 in league play, while the Lions fall to 14-19 and 5-14.
Prior to the game, Wheaton honored its six seniors, who collectively, all made key contributions in the game. The Lyons celebrated Bryanna Agan (Averill Park, N.Y.), Amanda Bogardus (Saco, Maine), Jill Ceddia (Hopkinton, Mass.), Knopf, Lindsey Oliveira (Westport, Mass.) and Weston.
Emerson scored the first run of the game with their only run in the top of the first inning. Wheaton scored two runs in the second, third and fifth innings to give it six runs for the game. The Lyons tallied 12 hits in the game to give them double-digit knocks for the 14th time this season.
Weston was 3-3 in the game for Wheaton, while Ceddia was 2-3 with a pair of doubles, two runs batted in and two runs scored. Sophomore first base Peyton Blankenheim-Brown (Rio Linda, Calif.) was 2-4 with a double and a pair of runs scored. Knopf improves to 11-5 on the season after striking out five and issuing a walk in seven complete innings.
Senior Makenzie Killough (Attleboro, Mass.) led the Lions at the plate, going 1-3 with a double and an RBI. Junior center fielder Sam Zannotti (Dudley, Mass.) chipped in going 1-2 with a walk and a run scored. Junior starting hurler Jessica Gomez (West Chester, Pa.) suffered the loss to drop to 4-12 after allowing six runs (five earned) on 12 hits and a walk in addition to fanning three batters in six innings of work.
Emerson got on the board with a run in the first to take a 1-0 edge. Zannotti laced a single up the middle, before Killough belted a two-out double to left center to knock in Zannotti with the visitors' only run of the game.
The Lyons put together four hits in the bottom of the second and scored twice to take a 2-1 edge. Blankenheim-Brown lined a double off the top of the left field fence to open the inning, before Ceddia doubled to the left-center gap to trade places with Blankenheim-Brown and knot the contest at 1-1. Weston dumped an opposite field single into left field to plate Ceddia and give Wheaton the lead for good.
The seniors carried the third inning for the Lyons to tack on two more runs. Agan smacked a lead-off single to left, before Ceddia ripped her second double of the game into left field to bring home a hustling Agan with the third run of the game for Wheaton. Weston came through again with a single to left to plate Ceddia and make it 4-1 in favor of the home team.
The Lyons added two more runs in the fifth to give them a five-run cushion. Blakenheim-Brown and Oliveira registered back-to-back singles, before Ceddia reached on a fielder's choice that saw all three runners advance safely to load the bases. Weston was in the right spot at the right time again and pulled a two-run single through the right side to score Blankenheim-Brown and Oliveira to give Wheaton a 6-1 advantage.
