BOSTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) softball team fell to host Emerson College, 7-5, this afternoon in the second game of a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference twinbill at Rotch Field in Boston, Mass.

The Lyons finish the regular season with a 25-13 overall mark and a 10-10 record in league play, while the Lions improve to 18-16 and 10-10. 

Wheaton earns the number five seed in the NEWMAC Championship Tournament and will take on fourth-seeded Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Wednesday, May 7 at host number one seed Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 2:30 p.m. in Cambridge, Mass.

Emerson scored the first six runs of the game with two in the third and single runs in the third and fourth in addition to two more in the fifth. The Lyons broke into the scoring column with a run in the sixth, before the Lions matched it with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame to take a 7-1 advantage. Wheaton rallied for four runs in the seventh to cut the deficit to 7-5.

Senior left fielder Juliette Zito (Woodbridge, Conn.) led the Lyons by matching her career best with four runs batted in after going 3-4 with a double and a home run to go with a pair of runs scored and a stolen base. She is now 10th on Wheaton's career hit list with 194, moved into fourth with 44 doubles and sits eighth with 52 stolen bases. Sophomore shortstop Ella Molinari (Grafton, Mass.) was 2-3 with a double and an RBI. Junior starting pitcher Brittany Dost (Centereach, N.Y.) was saddled with the loss to drop to 0-1 after allowing six runs (two earned) on eight hits to go with a strikeout in four and a third innings pitched.

Senior center fielder Carly Rosenberger (Conshohocken, Pa.) was 1-3 with two runs batted in for Emerson, while senior third base Ally Lacey (Londonderry, N.H.) was 2-2 with an RBI. Sophomore Caleigh Sheehan (Bolton, Conn.) contributed with a 3-4 effort and a run scored. Starting pitcher Jessica Gomez (West Chester, Pa.) earned the victory to improve to 6-7 on the year after yielding five runs on eight hits, while fanning five batters in seven complete innings.

The Lions got on the board with two runs in the bottom of the second inning. First year right fielder Avi Kuperman (Newton, Mass.) reached on an infield error to lead off the frame, before Sheehan beat out an infield single. Both runners moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt and Rosenberg later delivered a two-out two-run single to left to give the home team a 2-0 margin.

Emerson tacked on single runs in the third and fourth innings, before scoring twice in the fifth to take a 6-0 cushion. The home team loaded the bases after senior left fielder Grace Beaulieu was hit by a pitch, Gomez reached on an infield error and sophomore second base Riley Caiazza (Schaghticoke, N.Y.) reached on an infield single to push the sacks full with one out. Beaulieu scored on a fielder's choice to bump the Lions' margin to three. Emerson manufactured another run in the fourth when Lacey opened the inning with a single, before being lifted for senior pinch-runner Mackenzie Rice (Severna Park, Md.). Rice stole second, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored the fourth run of the game on a fielder's choice. The Lions added two more runs in the fifth to take a six-run lead. Caiazza smacked a lead-off double to center, took third on a passed ball and scored on the third Wheaton miscue in two innings. Kuperman later scored after advancing a base on a wild pitch and rounded the bases ahead of a single down the left field line off the bat of Lacey.

The Lyons got on the board with a run in the top of the sixth after Zito ripped a ground-rule double down the left field line and traded places with Molinari after a double of her own to plate Zito. Emerson matched the run in the bottom of the frame to give it at least one run in its fourth straight inning. Gomez belted a ground-rule double down the left field line and later scored on the front end of a double steal to give the Lions a 7-1 cushion.

Wheaton added four more runs in the seventh with one swing of the bat in the top of the seventh to close within 7-5. The Lyons loaded the bases with two outs after first year first base Kathryn Copperthite (Branford, Conn.), sophomore Gabby Reinbold (Sharon, Mass.) and senior right fielder Jillian Rohon (Southington, Conn.) all singled. Zito came through with her first career grand slam, launching a home run over the left field fence. It was the last run of the afternoon as the Lions hung on for the victory.