NORTON, Mass. -- Senior Peyton Blankenheim-Brown (Rio Linda, Calif.) started the game in the pitcher's circle and helped her own cause in a huge way with two home runs and three runs batted in as the Wheaton College (Mass.) softball team shut out visiting Roger Williams University, 6-0, in Wednesday's singular non-conference match-up on Clark Softball Field.

The win saw the Lyons improve to 13-10 on the year while the Hawks fell to 16-8 in their campaign.

Blankenheim-Brown was the offensive leader despite only recording three at-bats. The junior hit a solo home run her first time up and followed it up with a two-run blast in the third inning. She tossed two innings of one-hit ball and struck out two batters to earn a winning decision, improving her record to 8-4 on the season. Wheaton added two RBI from pinch hitters as first year Lexi Falcioni (North Branford, Conn.) and sophomore Madi Miller (Middle Village, N.Y.) drove in runs with base hits. Senior Brittany Dost (Centereach, N.Y.) came in to relieve Blankenheim-Brown and allowed five hits but kept the scoreboard clean with zero runs allowed. Junior Sofia De La Rosa (Middle Village, N.Y.) finished the game with two no-hit innings including four strikeouts to complete the shutout.

First year Madison Moran (Attleboro, Mass.) had the only extra-base hit for Roger Williams while junior Hailey Williams (Vernon, Conn.) added two base hits of her own. Junior starting pitcher Luci Walters (DeLand, Fla.) was chased from the game after two innings and two outs as she gave way to junior Sophia Bruno (Sandwich, Mass.) who finished out the game in relief. 

Blankenheim-Brown was tested early, as Williams led off the game with a single and advanced to scoring position. The junior starter got out of the jam with a swinging strikeout, setting up the bottom of the first without any score against the Lyons. 

After the first two Wheaton hitters were retired, Blankenheim-Brown stepped into the batter's box and smashed a solo shot over the wall in the left-center field. The towering blast gave Wheaton the initial lead, and Blankenheim-Brown had made her life on the rubber much easier.

She faced the minimum in the top of the second inning, while the Lyons also went down in order. Dost took over in the circle for the third, and pitched around a lead-off single to preserve the 1-0 lead.

Junior shortstop Ella Molinari (Grafton, Mass.) led off the bottom of the third inning by reaching first after a Hawks' error. She quickly made her way to third base after a sacrifice bunt and errant throw moved her over. Blankenheim-Brown was up next, and she took a 2-0 pitch far over the wall in the left-center field for the second straight at-bat to give Wheaton a 3-0 lead. The Lyons tacked on one more run before the end of the inning after a wild pitch, putting them ahead 4-0.

Dost pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth and had to do it again in the top of the fifth. The Hawks loaded up the bags with nobody out, but Dost reached back and induced a pop-up before a line-drive double play ended the inning without any damage. 

Falcioni and Miller each added an RBI with a base-hit in the bottom of the sixth, putting Wheaton ahead 6-0. De La Rosa was untouchable as she closed out the game with four strikeouts in two innings, preserving the shutout and giving Wheaton a 6-0 win in the midweek match-up.

Wheaton will be back in action on Friday as it returns to conference play with a home doubleheader against Babson College beginning at 3:00 p.m. Roger Williams will head to Springfield, Mass. for a pair of games with Western New England University on Saturday at noon.