KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Junior right-hander Kaera Wyse (Reading, Mass.) tossed a two-hit shutout as the Lynx picked up their first victory of the season with an 8-0 victory over Utica College, Monday morning. Wyse improves to 1-0 on the year after striking out three Pioneers over five innings.
The Lynx offense gave Wyse plenty of run support hitting Pioneer starter Sabrina Stransky hard the second time through the order. Sophomore first baseman Jordan Raab (Rochester, N.H.) opened up a seven-run fourth inning with a lead-off single. Following a walk to first year catcher Ally Murphy (Raynham, Mass.), fellow first year Sarah Bushman (Aurora, Colo.) loaded the bases with a single. Senior third baseman Carlyn Barker (Temecula, Calif.) cleared the bases rocketing a double to plate both Raab and Murphy to increase the Lynx lead to 3-0. However, the offense was far from done.
Sophomore Stephanie Schofield (Redwood City, Calif.) came through plating Bushman with a base-hit of her own. Moments later, she moved herself into scoring position with her first steal of the season as the Lynx kept the pressure on the Pioneers. With runners in scoring position and no one out junior second baseman Courtney Goggin (Cheshire, Conn.) laced a double into centerfield to plate both Barker and Schofield.
Two batters later, senior leftfielder Mekenzi Golden (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) continued the offensive charge driving a one-out triple into rightfield to bring home Goggin with the sixth Lynx run. Golden came into score the final run of the frame when Raab reached on an error by the third baseman.
The long delay in the top of the fourth had no effect on Wyse. She remained poised retiring the Pioneers in order when she returned to the circle in the home half.
Game 2: Wheaton 6, Lesley 5 – 8 Innings
In their second game of the day against regional foe Wheaton College the Lynx erased an early 5-0 deficit, scoring five unanswered runs from the third inning to the seventh inning.
The Lyons jumped on Lesley starter Alyson Nisbet (Clovis, Calif.) for three runs in the first and two runs in the second. However, the senior right-hander settled down and kept the Lyons off the scoreboard over the next five innings to give the offense a chance to bounce back.
Lesley began to climb out of the five-run hole scoring twice with two outs in the bottom of the third. After Goggin grounded into a double-play for the first two outs, junior centerfielder Theresa Pereira (Hopedale, Mass.) reached on an infield single then advanced into scoring position with a steal of second.
She came into score one batter later on an infield single to the left side off the bat of Golden but the Lynx were not done. Raab drove in Golden lining a single into leftfield to cut the deficit to three, 5-2.
Wheaton held on to the three-run cushion for the next three innings. It appeared as if the Lyons were going to hang on for their second win of the season, getting the first two outs of the seventh with relative ease. But looks can be deceiving.
The Lyons made a pitching change after starter Shelbi Wilson walked both Golden and sophomore shortstop Abby Henderson (Rochester, N.H.) to load the bases with two outs. But the fresh arm of Wheaton's Jade Assad was no match for Raab. Raab ripped a two-run single into right-field to bring the game to within one run. With Murphy at the plate, Lyons catcher Ali Petrelli was unable to corral an Assad pitch and let the ball escape to the backstop, letting Henderson score the game-tying run.
In extra innings, the Lyons were finally able to get to Nisbet for the first time since the second inning scoring once in the top the eighth to take the 6-5 lead. The Lynx made a valiant attempt to knot-up the ball-game once more in the bottom of the frame but were unable to bring home the runner from third base.
Falling to 1-3 on the young season, the Lynx return to the diamond on Wednesday March 15th for two games against Skidmore College and Case Western Reserve University. First pitch is slated for 9:00 a.m. against the Thoroughbreds.