SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The number two seed Wheaton College (Mass.) softball team was unable to overcome a seven-run inning put up by top-seeded Springfield College in a 9-6 loss in an elimination game on day three of the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference Championship Tournament this afternoon at Diane L. Potter Field in Springfield, Mass.

The Lyons conclude their season at 22-17, while the Pride improve to 29-9-1. Springfield advances to play number six seed Worcester Polytechnic Institute, a 5-2 winner over Smith College earlier in the day, at 2:00 p.m.

Springfield rallied for seven runs in the bottom of the second inning to erase a one-run deficit and take a 7-1 advantage. Wheaton got three runs back in the top of the third to close within 7-4. The Pride added two insurance runs in the third, before the Lyons scored single runs in the fifth and the seventh innings.

Senior catcher Jill Ceddia (Hopkinton, Mass.) paced the Lyon bats, going 2-4 with a double and two runs batted in, while first year first base Peyton Blankenheim-Brown (Rio Linda, Calif.) was 3-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Junior left fielder Juliette Zito (Woodbridge, Conn.) also contributed from the top of the line-up, going 2-4 with a run scored. Senior starting pitcher Sofia Knopf (Norton, Mass.) suffered the loss, dropping to 11-7 after allowing five runs on six hits and a walk in an inning and a third of work.

Senior center fielder Ava Rainone (White Plains, N.Y.) was 2-3 with two RBI, a walk, a stolen base and a run scored for the Pride, while senior left fielder Lucy Puskas (Roxbury, Conn.) was 3-4 with a double, a run batted in and a run scored. Senior shortstop Breanna McCann (Poway, Calif.) was 3-4 with a run scored as one of six Springfield hitters with multiple hits on the day. Sophomore Amelia DeRosa (Miller Place, N.Y.) earned the win in relief, after playing the first three frames at third base. She improves to 15-6 after tossing the final four innings and yielding two unearned runs on three hits and a walk.

Springfield was the beneficiary of well placed knocks in the outfield to help fuel the biggest inning of the afternoon that saw 12 batters come to the plate. The Pride were quick to tie the game with back-to-back doubles to open the frame. Puskas smacked a lead-off double to the gap in left center field. Graduate student right fielder Emily Whelan (Hopkinton, Mass.) lifted a fly ball to the right-center gap that the Lyon right fielder had a bead on, but was unable to corral in her outstretched glove as Puskas scored the game-tying run. Rainone stepped in from the left side and poked a single between third base and shortstop to plate Whelan with the go-ahead run and give Springfield the lead for good at 2-1. Senior second base Alli Olsen (Ridgewood, N.J.) ripped a liner to center that eluded the Wheaton center fielder's glove coming in for the ball, resulting in a run-scoring double. DeRosa drove an opposite field double to left center to plate Olsen with the fourth run of the inning, before senior catcher Callie Gendron (Berlin, Conn.) laced an RBI single up the middle to give the Pride a 5-1 margin. McCann continued the offensive outburst, ripping a two-out single off the pitcher that came back to the Lyon catcher, but the backstop's throw to first was off the mark and Gendron scored. McCann scampered to third base on the play. Puskas collected her second hit of the frame, dumping a single into right to knock in McCann with the seventh run of the inning. 

Wheaton got three of the runs back in the top of the third to cut the deficit to 7-4. The Lyons put together three straight hits to open the frame. Zito singled through the left side and first year second base Ella Molinari (Grafton, Mass.) reached on an infield single, before first year Blankenheim-Brown tattooed a pitch off the right field fence to drive in Zito. Molinari and Blankenheim-Brown eventually scored on consecutive ground outs to the right side from senior third base Bryanna Agan (Averill Park, N.Y.) and Ceddia to pull the Lyons within three runs.

Springfield tacked on two more runs in the fourth to increase its advantage to 9-4. The Pride loaded the bases with consecutive one-out singles from McCann, Puskas and Whelan to set up senior first base Michaela Ponticello (Gloversville, N.Y.). The left-handed batter responded with a rocket off the glove of the Wheaton third base's glove, allowing McCann to score the eighth Springfield run. Rainone followed with a bases-loaded walk to force in Puskas to bump the Pride's cushion to five.

Wheaton took advantage of a Springfield miscue to get a run back in the top of the fifth to close within 9-5. Blankenheim-Brown ripped a lead-off single up the middle, before Agan worked a walk. Blankenheim-Brown was forced at third on a fielder's choice, but senior shortstop Lindsey Oliveira (Westport, Mass.) hit a fly ball that was dropped by the Pride center fielder to score Agan from second to make it a four-run game.

The Lyons added one more run in the seventh, but it wasn't enough to prolong their season. Agan reached on an error, before Ceddia belted an RBI single to right center for the sixth and final run of the contest.

Wheaton got on the board first with the benefit of an error to take a 1-0 edge. Oliveira and junior right fielder Jillian Rohon (Southington, Conn.) stood on third and first base, respectively, after both reached on a fielder's choice. Rohon broke for second on a stolen base attempt, but the throw to second from the Springfield catcher was mishandled and Oliveira scampered home with the run.