NORTON, Mass. – Senior left fielder Juliette Zito (Woodbridge, Conn.) knocked in two runs and sophomore starting pitcher Sofia De La Rosa (Middle Village, N.Y.) allowed just one run to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) softball team to a 4-1 victory over visiting United States Coast Guard Academy this afternoon in game one of a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference twinbill at Clark Softball Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 21-8 overall and 6-5 in league play, while the Bears slip to 8-8-1 and 3-4.
Wheaton rapped out 10 hits for the game and took advantage of a two-out error to add a pair of insurance runs. Coast Guard opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first, before the Lyons matched the run in the bottom of the second. Wheaton took the lead in the fourth and added two more runs, following a CGA miscue as part of a three-run frame to give the home team a 4-1 lead.
Zito was 3-4 for the Lyons, while De La Rosa allowed just four hits to go with three walks and six strikeouts in seven complete innings to improve to 10-5 on the season for the Lyons. Sophomore Emma Boucher (Derry, N.H.) was 2-3 with an RBI, a stolen base and a run scored, while junior catcher Riley Dolan (Coram, N.Y.) was 1-3 with a run batted in. Sophomore shortstop Ella Molinari (Grafton, Mass.) was 2-3 with a double.
Junior first base Bridget Bartz (Arlington, Va.) led Coast Guard with a 1-3 effort, including a run batted in. First year Hayden Reilly (Prosper, Texas) contributed from the top of the lineup with a double and a run scored in three at-bats. Junior starting hurler Emma Behel (Ellicott City, Md.) suffered the loss to drop to 2-2 after giving up four runs (two earned) on eight hits and a walk to go with three strikeouts.
Wheaton scored three times in the bottom of the fourth to break a 1-1 tie and spell the difference in the game. Sophomore second base Taylor Barry (Hadley, Mass.) opened the frame with a hustle triple down the right field line, before Boucher came through with a two-out single to center field to give the Lyons a 2-1 edge. Senior right fielder Jillian Rohon (Southington, Conn.) grounded into what looked to be an inning-ending out to shortstop, but the throw was dropped at first to keep the inning alive. Zito ripped a single to center field that got past the center fielder, allowing both Boucher and Rohon to come around to score the third and fourth runs of the game for Wheaton.
The Bears got on the board first with a run in the top half of the first inning to take a 1-0 edge. Reilly led off the frame with a double to right field. De La Rosa fanned the next two batters, but Bartz delivered an RBI single to center to plate Reilly with the visitors' only run of the contest.
The Lyons got the run back in the bottom of the second to pull even at 1-1. Barry drew a one-out walk and stole second to set up Dolan for a run-scoring single to the gap in right-center field.
Both teams square off in the second game later today.
