CAPE CORAL, FL- Senior Stacey Kelleher (Brockton, MA/Brockton) hit a tiebreaking two-run home run during the Wheaton College softball team's 7-2 victory over Elms College, and sophomore Katy Salka's (Ayer, MA/Ayer) two-run, fifth-inning double erased a one-run deficit and gave the Lyons a 4-3 win against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) of New York to help the team begin the year 2-0 on Saturday at the Cape Coral Sports Complex during the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic. With Wheaton's triumph over Elms, first-year head coach Rachael Powers '03 notched her initial victory as a collegiate coach.

In a 1-1 game, the Blue and White broke out for five runs on five hits and two errors in the third inning against Massachusetts counterpart Elms, grabbing the lead for good when Kelleher slammed the first pitch she saw into straightaway center field to give the Lyons a 3-1 edge. Sophomore Marissa Hobocan (Shelton, MA/Saint Joseph) added insurance runs with a two-run double later in the frame.

Senior Brady Benton (Concord, NH/Concord) provided a 3-for-4 effort, adding two doubles, while Kelleher scored twice and drove in a pair. Sophomore Kristen Hunt (Milford, CT/Jonathan Law) added two hits, classmate Nicole DeRosa (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich Academy) drove in a first-inning run to give the Lyons a 1-0 edge, and freshman Staley Salazar (Lakewood, CO/Bear Creek) rapped her first college hit during the opening inning.

In the circle, junior Andrea Bagley (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro) tossed the first four innings for the win, striking out three, before yielding the rubber to freshman Lesley Warn (Portland, ME/Deering), who tossed one-hit ball over the final three frames to grab the save. Sophomore Ani Ramsdell (Gardner, MA) suffered the loss for the Blazers, allowing five earned runs in a complete-game effort during her team's opener.

During the second contest, the Lyons overcame a pair of one-run deficits in knocking off the Red Hawks, who notched 27 wins and an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Upstate Tournament appearance in 2008. With Wheaton trailing 1-0, Kelleher and Salka singled early in the second inning before freshman Amanda Poplaski (North Reading, MA/North Reading) was later plunked with the bases loaded and two down by the first pitch she saw as a collegian, knotting the game. Benton promptly hit an RBI single into center field, giving the Lyons an advantage

RPI sophomore Jen Bach (Lansdale, PA/Gwynedd Mercy Academy) put her team in front with a two-out, two-run homer in the third, but the first four Wheaton batters reached in the fifth, culminating in Salka's two-base rip to the gap in left, which produced the final margin. After a Red Hawk singled leading off the sixth, freshman hurler Mary Fay (Stoughton, MA/Cardinal Spellman) set down the next five hitters prior to an RPI base knock with two down in the seventh. Fay escaped trouble by inducing a game-ending grounder back to the circle.

Despite tossing just four innings, Bagley came within one strikeout of matching her career high, fanning seven Red Hawks without walking a batter. Fay notched the win thanks to a trio of shutout innings, as she struck out two RPI players. Salka went 2-for-2 with a walk and two RBI, Kelleher had two hits and scored twice, while Hunt had two walks. Sophomore Felicia Bua (Gilford, NH/Gilford) suffered the loss for the 1-1 Red Hawks, yielding four earned runs on six hits with four walks and four strikeouts in five innings of work.

Wheaton continues a stretch of 12 games in six days tomorrow by facing Drew University of New Jersey at 11:00 a.m. and Saint Mary's College of Indiana at 1:00 p.m.