KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Senior left fielder Juliette Zito (Woodbridge, Conn.) and junior first base Peyton Blankenheim-Brown (Rio Linda, Calif.) combined for seven hits, three triples and six runs batted in to fuel an 11-4 victory for the Wheaton College (Mass.) softball team over Washington & Jefferson College this afternoon at Fortune Road Athletic Complex in Kissimmee, Fla. as part of The Spring Games.
The Lyons improve to 4-1 on the season, while the Presidents fall to 3-4.
Wheaton registered season highs in runs and hits (15). The Lyons scored 10 runs through the first three innings to effectively put the game out of reach.
Zito tied the school record with a pair of triples for Wheaton to become just the fourth player in school history, and first since Nicole DeRosa on April 1, 2008 vs. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to leg out a pair of three-baggers in the same game. She also stole two bases, knocked in three runs and scored twice in a 3-5 effort. Blankenheim-Brown registered her first collegiate four-hit game, going 4-5 with three RBI, two runs scored and a triple. Senior center fielder Grace DiBacco (Selkirk, N.Y.) knocked in a pair of runs, scored three times and stole a base during a 3-5 effort and sophomore shortstop Ella Molinari (Grafton, Mass.) was 2-5 with a run scored. Junior right-hander Amber Arcand (Millvillve, Mass.) earned the win to bump her record to 2-0, giving up just one run on four hits and two walks to go with five strikeouts.
Junior shortstop Hannah Allen (Harrison City, Pa.) led W&J with a 3-4 day, including a home run, a double, two runs batted in and a run scored. Senior A'Niyah Dixon (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and junior center fielder Julia DiPietro-Harvey (Pittsburgh, Pa.) each collected a double for the Presidents. First year pitcher Macayle Thornhill (Warren, Ohio) suffered the loss to drop to 1-2 after allowing nine runs in seven hits and three walks to go with a pair of strikeouts in two and two-thirds innings of work.
The first four batters all reached base, including three extra-base hits to open the game for the Lyons. Zito laced a triple down the left field line and scored on a DiBacco double to left center field. Molinari reached on a single through the left side, before Blankenheim-Brown brought both runners around to score with Wheaton's second triple in just four batters. Blankenheim-Brown later scampered home with the fourth run of the frame on a ground out to shortstop by junior designated player Maggie Caron (Boxford, Mass.).
The Lyons broke the game open with a six-run third to take a 10-0 lead. Blankenheim-Brown led off the frame with a single, but Washington & Jefferson retired the next two batters and were within one out from moving onto the bottom of the third. Wheaton showed patience at the plate with sophomore second base Taylor Barry (Hadley, Mass.), first year third base Sangeeta Vaidya (Sunnyvale, Calif.) and senior right fielder Jillian Rohon (Southington, Conn.) all drawing walks to load the bases and force Blankenheim-Brown home with the fifth run. Zito delivered her second triple of the contest to clear the bases and give the Lyons an 8-0 advantage. It was the first of four hits as DiBacco followed with an RBI single through the left side to plate Zito and Molinari singled through the right side, before a Blankenheim-Brown single up the middle brought home DiBacco with the game's 10th run.
The Presidents got a run back when Allen blasted a solo home run over the right-center field fence to put them on the board at 10-1 in the bottom of the fourth.
Washington & Jefferson rallied for three more runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut the deficit to 10-4 and prolong the contest. The Presidents loaded the bases with one out after a Savannah Bodnar (Pittsburgh, Pa.) single and a Dixon double, followed by a walk issued to junior right fielder Kyra Blauth (PIttsburgh, Pa.). First year designated player Ally Jones (Donegal, Pa.) also worked a walk to force in the Presidents' second run of the game. One out later, Allen singled home a run and junior third base Deanna Gratton (Monroeville, Pa.) received the second run-scoring free pass of the frame to cut the margin to 10-4.
Wheaton capped the scoring in the seventh to give it an 11-4 cushion. DiBacco reached on a one-out single and later scored on a ground out by first year Madi Miller (Middle Village, N.Y.).
The Lyons return to action later today when they play Hiram University at 4:15 p.m., while Washington & Jefferson takes on Gordon College at 4:30 p.m. on March 13 in Kissimmee.
