DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Senior right fielder Jillian Rohon (Southington, Conn.) collected four hits and junior first base Peyton Blankenheim-Brown (Rio Linda, Calif.) doubled and drove in a pair of runs to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) softball team to a 12-4 victory in game one of a double-header with host University of Massachusetts Dartmouth this afternoon at UMD Softball Field in Dartmouth, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 9-2 on the season, while the Corsairs dip to 10-3.
Wheaton pounded out 14 hits in the game, which was halted after six innings due to the eight-run mercy rule. The Lyons scored the first 10 runs of the game by the fifth inning after crossing the plate four times in the first, five in the third and once in the top of the fifth.
Rohon was 4-4 to record the first four-hit outing of her career for the Lyons. She added a run batted in, two runs scored and a stolen base, while Blankenheim-Brown was 2-2 with a run scored and a stolen base. Senior left fielder Juliette Zito (Woodbridge, Conn.) also knocked in a pair of runs and was 2-4 with two runs scored and a double, while sophomore shortstop Ella Molinari (Grafton, Mass.) was 1-3 with two RBI, a pair of runs scored and a walk. Sophomore starting pitcher Sofia De La Rosa (Middle Village, N.Y.) earned the win to improve to 5-1 after yielding four runs on eight hits and a walk to go with eight strikeouts in six complete innings.
Senior left fielder Jillian Walsh (Warwick, R.I.) paced UMass Dartmouth with a perfect 3-3 effort and drove in a run to go with a run scored and a double, while junior Chaylin Cruz Salgado (Fall River, Mass.) was 1-1 with an RBI. First year starting pitcher Edy Crawford (Exeter, N.H.) suffered the loss to fall to 5-2. She gave up four runs on five hits and two walks, while striking out a batter in two-thirds innings of work.
Wheaton scored four runs in the top of the first to take a 4-0 lead. The Lyons loaded the bases with one out after Zito opened the contest with a double to left, Molinari drew a walk and Blankenheim-Brown reached on an infield single to short. Junior catcher Riley Dolan (Coram, N.Y.) lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to bring home Zito with the game's first run. Sophomore second base Taylor Barry (Hadley, Mass.) followed with a walk to reload the bases and set up consecutive RBI singles from first year designated player Madi Miller (Middle Village, N.Y.), Rohon and first year third base Sangeeta Vaidya (Sunnyvale, Calif.) to give Wheaton a four-run advantage.
The Lyons added five two-out runs in the fifth to increase their lead to a commanding 9-0. Zito delivered the fifth run of the game with a single, before senior center fielder Grace DiBacco (Selkirk, N.Y.) drew a one-out walk to load the bases. Molinari and Blankenheim-Brown came through with back-to-back two-run knocks to give Wheaton a nine-run cushion. The Lyons tacked on a run with the benefit of an error in the fifth to take a double-digit lead at 10-0.
The Corsairs got on the board with three runs in the bottom of the inning to prevent an early end to the contest and cut the deficit to seven. Walsh singled to left and junior second base Emma Talpey (Bridgewater, Mass.) reached on a bunt single, before both runners moved into scoring position. Salgado laced a single up the middle to plate Walsh, before the final two runs of the frame came home on an error to make it 10-3.
The Lyons scored twice in the top of the sixth, while looking to end the game before the seventh. Miller opened the inning with a free pass, before Rohon served a single to right field. Both runners moved into scoring position following a sacrifice bunt. Zito brought home Miller with a sacrifice fly to right field, while DiBacco drove in Rohon with a double to the gap in left-center field to give Wheaton a 12-3 advantage.
UMass Dartmouth scored the final run of the contest when sophomore Olivia Ali (Wrentham, Mass.) singled to left and came around to score on a two-out double to center field off the bat of Walsh.
