BENNINGTON, Vt. – Lesley University and Southern Vermont College split a New England Collegiate Conference doubleheader this afternoon as the Lynx prevailed 3-0 in game one before falling 6-3 to the Mountaineers in the second game of the day.
The split moves Lesley to 8-13 on the season and 5-3 in conference play while SVC goes to 10-13 overall and 5-7 in the NECC.
Both teams will be back in NECC action tomorrow at noon as the Lynx will return to Cambridge for a doubleheader with Wheelock College while the Mountaineers will play host to Newbury College for a pair of games.
Game One: Lesley 3, Southern Vermont 0
Lesley sophomore Alyson Nisbet (Clovis, Calif.) turned in one of her best outings of the season as she hurled a complete game shutout to carry the Lynx to a 3-0 victory. The right-hander limited the Mountaineers to just five hits while striking out two and yielding just one free pass as she improved to 2-4 on the season.
The top of the lineup provided the offense for the Lynx as the first four batters in the lineup combined to collect seven of Lesley's nine hits in the game. Junior Selena Quezada (West Covina, Calif.) went 2-for-3 from the leadoff spot while sophomore Carlyn Barker (Temecula, Calif.) launched the first home run of her career as she finished 1-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored. Fellow sophomore Mekenzi Golden (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) and senior Allison Fountain (Cheshire, Conn.) each recorded a pair of hits for the visitors.
Lesley opened the scoring in the top of the second as Fountain led off the top of the inning with a triple down the left field line and came in on a two-out single to left by sophomore Nisbet.
The Lynx threatened again in the top of the third as they loaded the bases with one out. Freshman Theresa Pereira (Hopedale, Mass.) reached on an error in the SVC infield before Quezada followed with a bunt single. After an infield pop-up for the first out of the inning, Golden loaded the bases with a single to left. The Mountaineers escaped the jam without any runs scoring as starter Emily Fleming (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) got a foul out and a strikeout to end the inning.
Lesley finally broke through again in the top of the seventh inning as Barker smacked a two-run home run to left field that plated Pereira, who reached with a bunt single to lead off the inning, to provide the Lynx a pair of insurance runs as the Lynx went on to win 3-0.
Fleming pitched well for the hosts as she allowed three runs on nine hits while striking out eight in the loss.
Senior Erika Garay (Walnut, Calif.) led the Mountaineer offense as she went 2-for-2 with a walk from atop the SVC lineup.
Game two: Lesley 3, Southern Vermont 6
The Southern Vermont bats that remained dormant in game one wasted little time in finding their stride in game two. The first three batters all reached base before Fleming sent a single through the left side to score Rachel Robtoy (Baltic, Conn.) for the game's first run. The Mountaineers added two more runs on an error in the Lynx infield before Hayley McDonald (Latham, N.Y.) singled down the right field line to bring in SVC's fourth run of the inning.
The Lynx used to a two out rally to cut the deficit in half in the top of the fourth inning. Fountain and freshman Courtney Goggin (Cheshire, Conn.) both singled and then scored on consecutive singles by freshman Jillian Sbardella (Dartmouth, Mass.) Nisbet.
The Mountaineers would counter with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame as Robtoy launched a double to left field that brought Garay around to extend the hosts lead back to 5-2.
Lesley loaded the bases with one out in the top of the fifth and pushed a run across on a fielder's choice by Fountain, but McDonald limited the damage to just a single run as she got out of the jam with a groundout.
Once again, SVC had an answer as Fleming answered with a leadoff home run to left-centerfield to give the Mountaineers a 6-3 advantage.
Fleming would then come in and close the door on the Lynx with two innings of scoreless relief to preserve the win and salvage a split on the day.