KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Sophomore Sofia De La Rosa (Middle Village, N.Y.) hurled a five-hit shutout and struck out 10 to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) softball team over Russell Sage College, 8-0, this morning at Fortune Road Athletic Complex in Kissimmee, Fla. as part of The Spring Games.
The Lyons improve to 7-2 on the season and now have four shutouts in nine games, while the Gators slip to 2-3.
Wheaton scored a run in the first, four in the second and three more in the fourth to enact the eight-run mercy rule after five innings of play.
De La Rosa's shutout was her third in five starts this season as she improves to 4-1 with the win for the Lyons. She issued just one walk in five complete innings. Sophomore shortstop Ella Molinari (Grafton, Mass.) was 2-3 with a pair of doubles, two runs batted in, a run scored and a stolen base, while senior left fielder Juliette Zito (Woodbridge, Conn.) was 1-3 with two RBI, three runs scored, a double, two walks and a stolen base from the lead-off spot. Junior catcher Riley Dolan (Coram, N.Y.) knocked in two runs as well with a 1-3 outing.
Sophomore center fielder Bella Julian (Cicero, N.Y.) led Russell Sage at the plate with a pair of singles in as many at-bats. Junior starting pitcher Bailey Catlin (Petersburgh, N.Y.) suffered the loss to fall to 1-1 on the season after giving up eight runs (two earned) on six hits and three walks to go with a strikeout in four innings pitched.
Wheaton wasted no time in getting on the board with a run in the top of the first inning. Zito drew a lead-off walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and raced around to score on a double off the bat of Molinari to make it 1-0.
The Lyons were just getting started, scoring four times in the second to give them a comfortable 5-0 lead. Sophomore Taylor Barry (Hadley, Mass.) reached on a one-out single and later scored on an error. Senior right fielder Jillian Rohon (Southington, Conn.) also singled and came around to score on a two-run double from Zito to give Wheaton a 4-0 margin. Molinari kept the pressure on, delivering an RBI double in the inning for a 5-0 advantage.
The Lyons tacked on three more runs in the fourth to increase their cushion to 8-0. Zito began the rally with a two-out walk and later scored, before Wheaton loaded the bases after senior center fielder Grace DiBacco (Selkirk, N.Y.) walked, Molinari reached on an error and junior first base Peyton Blankenheim-Brown (Rio Linda, Calif.) was hit by a pitch. Dolan delivered with a two-run single to put the final runs on the board.
The Lyons return to play today at 1:30 p.m. when they take on Loras College at 1:30 p.m., while the Gators play Westminster College at 11:15 a.m.
