NORTON, Mass. – Lesley University dropped both ends of a doubleheader at Wheaton College in NCAA Division III softball action this afternoon in Norton, Mass. The Lynx fall to 1-9 on the season while the Lyons improve to 11-1.
Wheaton senior Allison Baker (Orange, Conn./Amity Regional) improved to 6-0 on the season as she scattered seven hits over seven innings pitched, allowed two runs (both earned), zero walks and struck out four batters in the first game of the afternoon.
Lesley freshman pitcher Alyson Nisbet (Clovis, Calif./Clovis East) was tabbed with the loss in 2 1/3 innings, yielding seven hits, five runs and two walks.
The Lynx took a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning as freshman Mekenzi Golden (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Aliso Niguel) continued her torrid start to the season when she lifted a two-run home run to center field, her first round-tripper in a Lesley uniform.
Wheaton cut the deficit in half at 2-1 in the bottom of the frame on a sacrifice fly to left field from senior Jenna Rocha (Rehoboth, Mass./Dighton-Rehoboth).
In the third, the Lyons took the lead for good as junior Emily Berardi (Boston, Mass./Boston Latin), sophomore Marissa Timoteo (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter), freshman Caroline Fairbanks (Milford, Mass./Milford) and sophomore Erin Deneen (Framingham, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury) all produced RBI doubles for a 5-1 advantage.
Sophomore Kelly Welch (Wood Dale, Ill./Fenton) tacked on a run-producing single in the fifth, while freshman Morgan Walsh (Norwell, Mass./Norwell) also had an RBI single up the middle in the sixth.
Berardi took the circle in the second game as she pushed her record to 2-1 allowing just two hits and one walk through four innings to go along with four strikeouts. Freshman Danielle Cimino (Cumberland, Maine/Greely) closed out the fifth for the Lyons.
Ahead 4-0 after the first, Wheaton used a seven-run third inning to put the game away. Deneen highlighted the frame with a two-run double down the right field line to give the hosts a 7-0 differential on the scoreboard. Senior Vanessa Campbell (Manchester, N.H./New Hampton School) plated a run with a groundout for an 8-0 gap, while Rocha, Timoteo, Berardi and Walsh all had RBI hits in the frame as well. In total, Wheaton produced six hits in the inning including three doubles.
Walsh finished the afternoon going 3-for-3 at the plate with one run scored and a team-high four RBI. Timoteo went 3-for-5 with three runs, two doubles and three RBI and Deneen was 2-for-4 with one run, two doubles and three RBI.
Wheaton (11-1) takes on WPI tomorrow in Norton, Mass. for a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) doubleheader with game one scheduled for noon. Lesley (1-9) visits Lasell College on Tuesday, March 25 at 3 p.m.