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April 3, 2008
Box Score (Game 1) | Box Score (Game 2)
BABSON PARK, Mass. - Conference rivals Wheaton College and Babson College split a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) softball doubleheader on Thursday afternoon, with Wheaton winning the opener, 8-2, in eight innings and Babson claiming a 4-2 victory in the nightcap. With the split, Babson is now 13-9 overall and 2-2 in the conference, while the Lyons move to 18-6 overall and 4-2 in the NEWMAC. Wheaton First-year Rachel Merrick (Methuen, Mass.) hit a grand slam to highlight a six-run eighth as the Lyons claimed an 8-2 victory in game one. Babson senior pitcher Jess Byrn (Safety Harbor, Fla.) and Wheaton senior hurler Jodi Moynagh (Worcester, Mass.) both cruised through the first six innings of that contest, with the Beavers taking a 1-0 lead into the seventh thanks to an RBI single by Byrn in the bottom of the third. After struggling through six scoreless frames against Byrn, the Lyons jumped in front with two runs in the top of the seventh. Junior slugger Stacey Kelleher (Brockton, Mass.) tied the contest with a lead-off homer to right, and first-year Kristen Hunt (Milford, Conn.) followed with a triple to deep center. Merrick then delivered the go-ahead run with a single to center, giving the visitors a 2-1 advantage. Babson once again evened things up in the bottom of the seventh, as senior captain Jess Cohen (Pittsford, N.Y.) led off with an opposite-field home run to right to make it a 2-2 contest. The Beavers would then put the winning run on third with one out in the inning, but sophomore Andrea Bagley (Foxboro, Mass.) came out of the bullpen to get two huge outs, sending the game into extra frames. Wheaton put the game away with six runs in the top of the eighth, beginning when junior Brady Benton (Concord, N.H.) scored on a sacrifice fly to center by first-year Nicole Derosa (Greenwich, Conn.). After Babson intentionally walked Kelleher to load the bases with one away, Hunt drew a walk to force in senior Audrey Poulton (Charlestown, R.I.) with the fourth Wheaton run. That set the stage for Merrick, who blasted a grand slam homer to left to blow the game open.
Bagley (6-2) pitched a scoreless eighth clinch the win for Wheaton, while Moynaugh took a no-decision despite 6 1/3 solid innings of two-run, four-hit ball. Despite a brilliant effort through the first seven innings, Byrn (8-4) ended up with a tough line of seven earned runs on nine hits in 7 1/3 before giving way to sophomore Danielle Liska (Seymour, Conn.), who came on to get the final two outs for the Beavers. Both pitchers that finished game one took the mound again in game two, as Liska squared off against Bagley. All six runs in the contest would be scored in the fourth inning, beginning when Wheaton plated a pair in the top half. Kelleher knocked in the first when her one-out double to center scored senior Erika Marini (Pawtucket, R.I.) from second, and Merrick added her sixth RBI of the day with a groundout to the mound as Kelleher raced home from third. Babson answered with four in the bottom of the inning, including three on a bizarre play with one out. With the bases loaded, Byrn lined a single up the middle, scoring junior Kim D'Agostino (Woburn, Mass.) from third. First-year Meg Cyr (Woodbury, Conn.) then scampered home when the throw from the outfield skipped past the catcher, and junior Courtney Thurston (Taunton, Mass.) followed when the return throw to the plate hit Cyr and caromed to the first-base dugout. That gave the Beavers a 3-2 lead, and Cohen made it 4-2 with an RBI-single to left two batters later. That would prove to be enough for Babson first-year Caroline Barr (Wilmington, Mass.), who came on in relief of Liska in the top of the fifth and pitched three brilliant innings to earn her first career save. The rookie righthander allowed two hits and one walk while striking out three over the final three frames, and she added a fantastic catch of a line drive to end the ballgame. Liska (4-4) earned the win after giving up two runs on five hits and fanning one in four innings of work. Bagley also pitched well for the Lyons, giving up four runs - only two of which were earned - on eight hits and striking out four in five innings. First-year Courtney Collier (Bolton, Mass.) came on to get the final three outs for Wheaton. |
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