KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) softball team was defeated by Benedictine University (Ill.) this afternoon, 11-1, at Fortune Road Athletic Complex in Kissimmee, Fla. as part of The Spring Games.
The Lyons dip to 6-2 on the season, while the Eagles win their seventh straight to improve to 7-1 on the year.
Benedictine rapped out nine hits and took advantage of two Wheaton errors, while limiting the Lyons to just three hits on the day.
Senior right fielder Amber Arcand (Millville, Mass.) was 1-3 with a double and a run batted in to pace Wheaton. Junior third base Emma Boucher (Derry, N.H.) contributed by going 1-2 with a double and senior catcher Riley Dolan (Coram, N.Y) was also 1-2. Junior starting pitcher Sofia De La Rosa (Middle Village, N.Y.) suffered the loss to drop to 2-2 after allowing seven unearned runs on three hits and three walks.
Senior starting pitcher McKenzie Johnson (Cary, Ill.) was outstanding for the Eagles, allowing just one run on three hits and two walks to go with five strikeouts in five complete innings to improve her record to 3-1. Senior first base Taylor Oppenhuis (Saint John, Ind.) led the Benedictine offense, going 2-3 with three runs batted in to go with a double, while senior catcher Morgan Bruno (Romeoville, Ill.) was 3-4 with two RBI and a pair of runs scored. First year designated player Alyssa Perkins also knocked in a pair of runs and was 1-2 with a run scored.
The Eagles collected three hits and took advantage of a pair of errors to score seven unearned runs in the bottom of the second to take the lead for good at 7-0. Back-to-back miscues led to Benedictine's first run, before Bruno gave the Eagles a 3-0 margin with a two-run single. Perkins padded Benedictine's margin with a two-run single to make it 5-0, before Oppenhuis smacked a two-run double to give the Eagles a seven-run margin.
The Lyons got on the board in the top of the third to cut the deficit to 7-1 without the benefit of a hit. First year left fielder Julia Miller (Cheshire, Conn.) drew a lead-off walk and advanced to second and third on wild pitches. Arcand grounded out to shortstop to drive in Miller from third base.
Benedictine added four more runs in the bottom of the third to effectively put the game out of reach. Senior second base Lauryn Olson (Watertown, Wis.) recorded a two-out single to spark six different batters reaching safely, via a hit or walk. Graduate student third base Haley Barnes (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) gave the Eagles a 9-1 advantage after ripping a two-out, two-run single to increase the Eagles' lead. First year pinch-hitter Autumn Adamik and Oppenhuis closed out the game's scoring with back-to-back RBI singles to give Benedictine an 11-1 advantage.
Johnson was in the middle of spinning a gem from the circle for the Eagles, getting the first two outs of the fourth inning, before Boucher doubled for Wheaton's first hit of the game. Johnson retired the final batter of the inning.
The Lyons return to action tomorrow at Fortune Road when they take on Carlow University at 1:45 p.m., while Benedictine plays Catholic University later in the day at 2:45 p.m.
