NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) softball team was defeated by visiting United States Coast Guard Academy, 6-2, this afternoon in the nightcap of a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference doubleheader at Clark Softball Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons slip to 21-9 overall and 6-6 in conference action, while the Bears improve to 9-8-1 and 4-4.
Coast Guard pounded out 13 hits in the game, including five doubles. The Bears scored twice in the third and added three more runs in the sixth to take a 5-0 lead. Wheaton got on the board with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it 5-2, before Coast Guard scored the final run of the day in the top of the seventh.
Sophomore second base Taylor Barry (Hadley, Mass.) paced the Lyons at the plate, going 3-3 with a double, while sophomore shortstop Ella Molinari (Grafton, Mass.) was 1-3 with a run scored. Junior pitcher Peyton Blankenheim-Brown (Rio Linda, Calif.) was tagged with the loss to dip to 8-4 after giving up five runs (four earned) on 11 hits and two walks in addition to fanning three batters.
Sophomore shortstop Mack Murnane (Wilmington, N.C.) had four hits, including three doubles, and junior second base Bridget Bartz (Arlington, Va.) knocked in a pair of runs to lead the Bears. Murnane was 4-4 with a run scored, while Bartz was 1-4 in the game. First year catcher Madeline Kibler (Effingham, Ill.) and junior right fielder Maura Murphy (Bristow, Va.) were both 2-4 with a run batted in. Junior starting pitcher Dana Walker (Macon, Ga.) picked up the win to improve to 7-4 after allowing two runs (one earned) on seven hits and two walks, while striking out three batters.
Coast Guard broke into the scoring column with two runs on five hits in the top of the third. Murphy, first year Hayden Reilly (Prosper, Texas) and Kibler each singled in the frame to load the bases with one out. Bartz followed with a sacrifice fly to center to plate Murphy with the game's first run. Junior Emma Behel (Ellicott City, Md.) followed with an RBI single to left to give the visitors a 2-0 margin.
The Bears added three more runs in the top of the sixth to increase their lead to 5-0. Reilly smacked a two-out double to center field, before sophomore Abriana Schmutz (Marysville, Mich.) drew a walk. Kibler laced a single up the middle to drive in Reilly from second base. Bartz followed with a double to left field to plate Schmutz, before Kibler scored and Bartz moved to third on an errant throw from the outfield to give Coast Guard a five-run lead.
Wheaton took advantage of a costly outfield error to score two runs in the bottom of the frame to cut the deficit to three. Senior center fielder Grace DiBacco (Selkirk, N.Y.) worked a one-out walk, before Molinari ripped a sharp single to center that got by the Bear center fielder and rolled to the fence, allowing DiBacco to score and Molinari to circle all of the bases for the second Lyon run.
Coast Guard tacked on another insurance run in the top half of the seventh to take a 6-2 advantage. Murnane belted her third double of the day to lead off the inning, before Murphy stroked a two-out single to center to bring Murnane around to score the final run of the day.
Wheaton is in action again when it travels to Springfield, Mass. on Friday, April 25 for a doubleheader with Springfield College at 3:00 p.m., while the Bears play on Saturday, April 19 when they host Springfield in a NEWMAC twinbill at Noon.
