Norton, MA --- For the second straight day, the Wheaton College softball team split a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) doubleheader, as the Lyons fell in the first game to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), 5-2 on Saturday at Clark Field before regrouping for a 12-7 victory during game two. The twinbill was originally slated to take place at WPI, as the Engineers still played as the home team. The Lyons are 15-11 overall and tied for second in the league at 7-3, while first-place WPI is 12-7 and 6-2.
 
WPI got all the offense it would need in the first game out of a four-run first inning. Sophomore Nicole Maglione (Charlton, MA) walk to lead off before scoring on senior Kristen Gervais' (Millbury, MA) single. Sophomore Jen Richards (Hampstead, NH) had the only other hit of the frame, a two-run double, before she came home on a wild pitch.
 
After junior Nicole DeCampo (Stoneham, MA) doubled in WPI's fifth run, the Lyons began chipping away against senior Meghan Kelly (Burlington, MA), who had yielded just three earned runs in 51 innings entering the day. Sophomore Stacey Kelleher (Brockton, MA) led off the fourth with a double, and junior pinch runner Jodi Moynagh (Worcester, MA) scored on sophomore Brady Benton's (Concord, NH) single. Benton and senior Jessica DePolito (Taunton, MA) then pulled off a double steal, with DePolito coming home on the front end.
 
However, the Lyons had only one sustained threat from there, as Kelleher singled leading off the sixth and Benton drew a two-out walk. Kelleher was 2-for-3, while Moynagh yielded one run on one hit during five innings of relief. She fanned six and set down 11 of the last 13 batters. Kelly ended up allowing five hits and two earned runs in seven innings while striking out three hitters. Gervais scored twice, while Richards finished with her two RBI.
 
Wheaton rebounded in the second game, tallying at least eight runs for the seventh time in 12 contests. Senior Nicole Lachance (Rochester, NH) led off the game with her fifth home run before Gervais' two-run single gave WPI the lead. However, the Blue and White plated 11 runs on 11 hits between the third and fourth innings. The first six batters reached in the third, as Kelleher picked up an RBI single before DePolito singled home two more runs. Benton drove in Wheaton's fourth run, and Moynagh smacked a two-run single for her second hit of the inning. In the following frame, DePolito launched a three-run drive off the right field scoreboard for her seventh home run of the year. Sophomore Lynn Cotto (Brookfield, CT) later contributed an RBI single.
 
Down 12-2, WPI cut its deficit in half thanks to three runs in the fourth and two in the fifth. Kelly smacked a two-out RBI single in the fourth before junior pinch hitter Kristen Hodel (Buckley, WA) picked up a two-run single. Two more Engineer runs scored with two down in the fifth, as sophomore Sara Migdal (Hagaman, NY) and freshman Kelly Johnson (Buxton, ME) each ripped RBI doubles.
 
From there, Moynagh came on for 2.1 innings of no-hit relief. She struck out three, while junior Audrey Poulton (Charlestown, RI) notched the win after yielding four earned runs in 4.2 innings. Poulton also went 4-for-4 at the plate with a double, while Moynagh had two hits, two RBI and a double. DePolito went 2-for-4 with five RBI, Cotto was 2-for-4, and junior Erika Marini (Pawtucket, RI) and freshman Merry MacDonald (Braintree, MA) each had two hits and scored twice. Gervais finished 2-for-2 with two RBI, Maglione was 2-for-4 with two runs, and junior Briana Dougherty (Woburn, MA) had two hits. Johnson, the third of three pitchers, tossed three innings of three-hit relief.
 
Wheaton hosts Eastern Connecticut State University on Tuesday in a doubleheader beginning at 3:30 pm.  WPI will entertain Amherst on Monday at 4:30pm in a makeup contest from last month.

Release Courtesy Wheaton Sports Information