WELLESLEY, Mass. -- First year Mady Bryan (Halifax, Mass.) led the Wheaton College (Mass.) softball team as she went 2-4 with an RBI double during the Lyons' loss to Wellesley College in Saturday's first game of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference doubleheader.

Wheaton fell to 14-12 overall and 4-7 in the NEWMAC after the loss. Wellesley improved to 14-8 overall and 7-4 in the NEWMAC with the win in game one of the doubleheader. 

Bryan led the way for Wheaton at the plate with two doubles, but junior Taylor Barry (Hadley, Mass.) matched her with a pair of singles. Juniors Gabby Reinbold (Sharon, Mass.) and Ella Molinari (Grafton, Mass.) each picked up an RBI as the Lyons fell to the Blue, with Molinari's coming from a solo home run in the fifth inning. Junior starting pitcher Sofia De La Rosa (Middle Village, N.Y.) pitched through 26 outs for Wheaton, tossing more than 100 pitches for the second straight day. 

First year Brooklyn Awad (Montclair, N.J.) led the Blue bats with two RBI, including the game-winning run. Juniors Alena Mulhern (Kingston, Mass.) and Sarah Wicker (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) picked up the other two RBI for Wellesley. Junior Jill Colgan (Las Vegas, Nev.) got the ball to start and pitched four and one-third innings with three earned runs against. First year Lauren Seyller (South Elgin, Ill.) pitched four and two-thirds innings with a strikeout and zero runs allowed to secure the win for Wellesley.

Wheaton wasted no time as they got on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning. Junior Peyton Blankenheim-Brown (Rio Linda, Calif.) worked a walk with two outs to set up Bryan. A double off the wall in the left-center field scored the runner, but Wheaton would fail to score any more. 

Wheaton scored again in the top of the fourth after Bryan led off the inning with her second double of the ballgame. She advanced to third after a sacrifice bunt went awry defensively for Wellesley, and came home off of a Reinbold base hit to put the Lyons ahead 2-0. Wicker responded in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single to halve the Blue deficit at 2-1.

Molinari blasted a home run over the fence in left-center field to put Wheaton ahead 3-1, but once again the Blue responded with an RBI double. De La Rosa was put under pressure in the bottom of the sixth as the Blue loaded up the bases. Mulhern worked a walk with the base paths fully occupied to score the tying run for Wellesley. 

The Wheaton starter settled in for the seventh inning as she faced the minimum, and stayed strong in the eighth as she pitched around the runner placed at second base to force a ninth frame. Reinbold managed to reach third base in the top of the ninth, but was stranded on the last bag as Wheaton lined out and struck out to end the inning. De La Rosa got two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but an Awad single through the left side scored the winning run. Wellesley walked-off with a 4-3 win in the opener of the conference doubleheader.

Wheaton will play Wellesley in game two of the NEWMAC doubleheader later today after field preparations have concluded.