WORCESTER, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) softball team slipped to host Worcester Polytechnic Institute in a 6-5 defeat in the nightcap of a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference doubleheader at Rooftop Field in Worcester, Mass.
The Lyons dropped to 9-7 overall and 0-2 in league action, while the Engineers, who received votes in the most recent National Fastpitch Coaches Association/GoRout national poll, improve to 16-0 and 4-0.
Wheaton was led by senior starting pitcher Peyton Blankenheim-Brown (Rio Linda, Calif.), who went 3-for-4 with two RBI, while senior right fielder Amber Arcand (Millville, Mass.) and first year left fielder Julia Miller (Cheshire, Conn.) each collected three hits and drove in a run. Blankenheim-Brown took the loss in the circle to fall to 5-3 on the year after yielding six runs (five earned) on 11 hits to go with a strikeout.
Junior center fielder Virginia McKinney (Larchmont, N.Y.) recorded two hits including a double and an RBI, while senior first base Emma Nagy (Monroe, Wash.) tripled and drove in two runs. First year third base Stella Kozak (Auburn, N.H.) added two RBI, and sophomore catcher Ariana Kreuzer (Walpole, Mass.) chipped in an RBI as WPI once again produced timely offense.
First year pitcher Abby Merchant (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) earned her second win of the day, allowing five runs, three earned, over five innings while striking out four. Junior Kaitlyn Barr (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) picked up the save, tossing two scoreless innings in relief.
The Lyons jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on RBI doubles from Blankenheim-Brown and junior third base Emma Boucher (Derry, N.H.), but WPI answered with four runs in the bottom half of the frame. McKinney doubled home sophomore right fielder Lucy Latour (North Dighton, Mass.) to get the Engineers on the board before Nagy tripled down the right-field line to score junior second base Riley O'Brien (Wynantskill, N.Y.) and McKinney. Kozak followed with an RBI double to plate Nagy and give WPI a 4-2 advantage.
The Engineers tacked on another run in the third to increase their lead to three after a single to the right-center gap off the bat of Kreuzer brought home Fairbairn with the fifth run of the contest to give the home team a 5-2 lead.
Wheaton rallied with three runs in the fifth to knot the contest at 5-5, as Blankenheim-Brown singled home junior shortstop Ella Molinari (Grafton, Mass.) before Miller and Arcand each delivered RBI singles.
WPI responded in the bottom of the inning when Kozak reached on a sacrifice bunt and throwing error that allowed Fairbairn to score the go-ahead run.
Barr closed the game by stranding the tying run in the seventh, securing the sweep for WPI.
Wheaton returns to the diamond tomorrow for a Noon NEWMAC twinbill against visiting Smith College, while the Engineers host Emerson College in conference play at the same time.
