Wheaton splits with 21st-ranked Wellesley, clinches top-two seed

April 18, 2008

NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College softball team split with nationally-ranked New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) foe Wellesley College on Friday during Senior Day at Clark Field, losing the opener in nine innings, 6-2 but winning game two, 4-3, before clinching one of the top two spots in the league standings by virtue of action around the league. As one of the highest two seeds in the NEWMAC Tournament, Wheaton will host a doubleheader on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m., taking part in the second contest only.

The Lyons improved to 28-10 overall and finished 12-4 in the NEWMAC, its top conference showing in four years, as 19th-year head coach Gina Loudenburg coached her final two regular season home games. Thanks to its split, Wheaton is guaranteed to finish no worse than tied for second in its conference for the 18th time in 21 years of league play. The Blue, which won the 2007 NEWMAC Tournament and is ranked 21st by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), is now 22-6-1 and 11-3 with two league games to play.

In the opener, Wheaton senior Jodi Moynagh (Worcester, MA/Holy Name Central Catholic) yielded one hit through the first 3.1 innings of a scoreless game before the Blue came alive in the fourth. After a one-out single was followed by a base on balls, sophomore Shawna McCreadie (Des Plaines, IL/Elk Grove) had an RBI double, and senior Jenna Harvey (London, Ontario/Clarke Road Secondary School) plated a run with a sac fly.

In the circle, Harvey limited Wheaton to two hits over the first 5.1 innings before running into trouble in the sixth. The righty, who allows the fewest hits per seven innings among all Division III pitchers, yielded a one-out single to senior Audrey Poulton (Charlestown, RI/Chariho Regional) before an infield error put two on. Three batters later, with the bases loaded and two out, freshman Nicola DeRosa (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich Academy) sent a 1-2 pitch through the left side for a two-run single, knotting the game at two.

The teams headed to extra innings, as Wellesley had a runner thrown out at the plate in the eighth before the Lyons put two on with two down in the home half but could not score. The following inning, the Blue received a tie-breaking RBI double from sophomore Megan Wood (Jacksonville, FL/The Bolles School) before Harvey slugged a three-run home run. Wheaton loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth but did not score despite a DeRosa single and a walk by freshman Katy Salka (Ayer, MA/Ayer) in her first collegiate plate appearance.

DeRosa went 2-for-4, while Moynagh yielded four earned runs on seven hits, fanning eight and walking two. Wood was 3-for-3 with two runs and two doubles for Wellesley, while Harvey finished 2-for-2 with four RBI. The hurler yielded only two unearned runs in nine innings on five hits while striking out 14 and walking three.

The Blue scored the first run of game two on a wild pitch with two down in the first, but Lyon sophomore Andrea Bagley (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro) yielded only one hit during an 11-batter span from the first through the fourth, and Wheaton supported her on the scoreboard. Freshman Kristen Hunt's (Milford, CT/Jonathan Law) sacrifice fly in the second plated junior Stacey Kelleher (Brockton, MA/Brockton) to tie the score before Kelleher launched a three-run homer with one down the following inning to make it 4-1 in favor of the hosts. Wheaton nearly added an insurance run in the sixth, as Salka doubled to the right field gap for her first college hit and reached third one batter later before being stranded.

Wellesley loaded the bases with no one out in the seventh on an error and two singles before the Blue cut its deficit to 4-2 by scoring on another miscue. However, Bagley induced a run-scoring double-play grounder to senior third baseman Erika Marini (Pawtucket, RI/Saint Raphael Academy) before getting the final batter to ground out with the tying run on second base.

Kelleher finished 2-for-3 with two runs and three RBI for the Lyons. Bagley notched her eighth win while yielding just one earned run on eight hits, striking out seven and walking none. Freshman Alison Davis (Glen Ellyn, IL/Glenbard South) was 3-for-4 to lead Wellesley, and junior hurler Beej Grundlock (Blackwood, NJ/The Peddie School) suffered just her second loss after allowing two earned runs on seven hits with three strikeouts.

With its NEWMAC regular season slate complete, the Lyons turn their attention to non-conference foe Endicott College tomorrow, as the teams face off for a twinbill in Beverly at 12:00 p.m.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 4/21/08.
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