April 2, 2009
NORTON, Mass. - The Wheaton College softball team fell twice on Thursday to 2008 NCAA Tournament New England Regional finalist Endicott College, 10-2 in six innings and 11-4 on Clark Field. The Lyons slipped to 11-13, while the Gulls improved to 13-3 on the season.
Senior Brady Benton (Concord, N.H.) went 4-for-4 during the nightcap for Wheaton while scoring four runs during the double-header, and sophomore Kristen Hunt (Milford, Conn.) walked five times between the two contests and slammed her second home run of the season.
In the opener, senior Meghan Sargent's (Salisbury, Mass.) three-run homer in the top of the first inning provided the Gulls with a 3-0 lead, while Hunt scored on a wild pitch in the home half before the Lyons came away empty during a bases-loaded, two-out situation. Endicott took a 5-1 advantage into the bottom of the third, when Wheaton sophomore Nicole DeRosa's (Greenwich, Conn.) RBI single made it a three-run game, but another Lyon was cut down at the plate on the hit, and the hosts again failed to capitalize on a three-on, two-out opportunity.
Endicott put the game away in the late innings, as sophomore Ashley Wright (Merrimack, N.H.) and junior Sarah Spaziano (Norton, Mass.) hit consecutive home runs in the fifth before their team plated three runs in the sixth, including two on a Wright double.
DeRosa finished 2-for-3 with an RBI to pace Wheaton, sophomore Katy Salka (Ayer, Mass.) was 2-for-3 with a double, and Hunt and senior Lynn Cotto (Brookfield, Conn.) walked twice each. Junior Andrea Bagley (Foxboro, Mass.) allowed five earned runs in 4.1 innings to take the loss.
Junior Megan Downey (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) went 3-for-3 with two runs for the Gulls, Wright finished 2-for-3 with three RBI, and Spaziano provided two hits. Sophomore Jenna Bortolotti (Milton, Mass.) allowed two earned runs during a complete-game effort despite walking six.
During game two, Endicott tallied three runs on five hits in the top of the first before Wheaton senior Stacey Kelleher (Brockton, Mass.) smacked an RBI double in the home half to put runners on second and third with one down, but the Lyons pushed no further runs across in the frame.
Downey's two-run triple highlighted a three-run Gull third inning, and Hunt launched a two-run homer in the bottom of the frame to make it 7-3. Wheaton threatened for more in the fourth, loading the bases with two down before coming away empty. Endicott scored twice in each the sixth and seventh innings, and a Kelleher sacrifice fly in the seventh produced the final margin.
Benton scored three runs for the Lyons in addition to her four hits, and Hunt became the first Wheaton player to walk three times in a game since Jessica Foster '05 on March 16, 2003. Kelleher plated two runs, and freshman Mary Fay (Stoughton, Mass.) added a pair of hits, including a double. She also suffered the complete-game loss.
Junior Merry MacDonald (Braintree, Mass.) was 4-for-5 with three doubles, two runs and two RBI for the Gulls, Spaziano went 3-for-4 with two RBI, and freshman Katherine McGann (Topsfield, Mass.) was 3-for-4. Senior Jackie Collier (Swampscott, Mass.) went the distance for the victory, allowing four earned runs.
Endicott will travel to Weston, Mass. on Saturday afternoon as the Gulls are scheduled for a TCCC double-header against Regis College scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Wheaton returns to New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action tomorrow against 2008 league tournament runner up Wellesley College for a twinbill in Norton at 3:30 p.m.
