CAMBRIDGE, Mass.- Lesley University picked up a pair of New England Collegiate Conference victories this afternoon as they topped Wheelock College in both ends of a doubleheader at Buckingham Field. The Lynx utilized the run-rule in both games as they took a 10-0 decision in game one while earning a 13-4 triumph in game two.
The Lynx improve to 10-13 overall and 7-3 in the NECC while the Wildcats drop to 2-15 on the season and 0-12 in the conference.
Lesley will be back in NECC action on Tuesday when they head to Regis College for a doubleheader at 5:00p while Wheelock will travel to Mitchell College for a pair of games on Wednesday.
Game One: Wheelock 0, Lesley 10
In the first game of the afternoon, both starting pitchers kept the offenses in check through three and a half innings. Wheelock's sophomore starter Maggie Doyle (Kingston, Mass.) hurled three frames of one-run ball while Lesley's rookie starter Jillian Sbardella (Dartmouth, Mass.) had four shutout innings before the Lynx offense erupted.
Lesley sent 15 batters to the plate as they scored nine runs on nine hits to open up a commanding 10-0 lead. The first three Lynx all singled to load the bases before junior Selena Quezada (West Covina, Calif.) drove a two-run double to left-centerfield. Sophomore Carlyn Barker (Temecula, Calif.) singled to re-load the bases for the hosts before classmate Mekenzi Golden (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) clubbed a grand slam over the fence in left-center. The homer was Golden's third in the last five games and her fifth on the season.
Later in the inning, Sbardella added an RBI single before junior Ashleigh Ramirez (Newport, Ore.) capped the scoring in the inning with a two-run single through the left side.
Sbardella finished off the fifth to complete the shutout for the Lynx as the righty allowed just two hits while striking out five to earn the win.
Game Two: Wheelock 4, Lesley 13
The Lynx offense picked up where they left off in the second game of the afternoon as they raced out to an 8-0 lead after four innings. Quezada opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning as she singled to left and cleared the bases as the Lynx took advantage of a Wildcat error in the outfield.
Lesley added four more runs in the bottom of the third as freshman Theresa Pereira (Hopedale, Mass.) laced an RBI single to left field before Quezada knocked in two more with a single up the middle. Golden closed the scoring in the inning as she recorded the fourth Lesley single in the inning to bring in Quezada.
After the Lynx scored one more in the bottom of the fourth inning on an illegal pitch, the Wildcats offense kicked into gear in the top of the fifth. Wildcats senior Becca House (Middlebury, Conn.) and sophomore Rebecca Biancardi (Peabody, Mass.) got things started with back-to-back singles before rookie Rachael Simpson (Littleton, Mass.) put Wheelock on the board with an RBI double to left field. After a single by junior Kiersten Cosgrove (Pequannock, N.J.), senior Molly Rose (Weymouth, Mass.) smacked a single deep into the hole at shortstop to drive home Simpson before sophomore Vanessa Valenti (Woodstock, Conn.) ripped a two-run double down the third base line to bring in Cosgrove and Rose to cut the Lesley lead to 8-4.
In the bottom of that frame, Lesley struck back to finish the sweep. Senior Allison Fountain (Cheshire, Conn.) smacked her first home run of the season, a two-run shot over the left field fence while Ramirez had an RBI base knock three batters later. Quezada rounded out the scoring with a walk-off two RBI single to complete a 13-4 win.
Quezada had quite the day at the plate as she finished 3-for-5 with a run and a career-high six RBI to lead the Lynx while Fountain went 1-for-3 with a home run, two RBI, and a run scored.
Sbardella earned her second victory of the afternoon with a 4.1 shutout innings while Valenti took the loss for Wheelock.