Softball Drops Two at Wheaton

Norton, MA - Senior Jodi Moynagh (Worcester, MA) tossed her second career no-hitter as the nationally-ranked Wheaton College softball team swept a doubleheader from Framingham State College, 11-3 in six innings and 9-0 in five frames at Clark Field on Tuesday afternoon. The Lyons, who are ranked 24th by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), improved to 13-1 while opening their northern slate and are off to their best start since 1997. The Rams fell to 3-10.
 
During the back end of the twinbill, Moynagh fanned nine and surrendered a two-out walk in the second inning to yield the Rams their only base runner. It was her second no-hitter in less than a year, as she spun a perfect game against Bridgewater State College last April 1. Moynagh became just the fourth Lyon to throw at least two career no-hitters, as she struck out at least one batter in every inning, including fanning the side in the fourth to start a span during which she struck out five of the last six batters. She is now 7-0 on the season.
 
Moynagh helped herself defensively in the first inning, fielding a roller near the first base line and narrowly throwing out the runner at first base. Out in left field, senior Audrey Poulton (Charlestown, RI) made running catches to end the second and third innings.
 
Poulton doubled and scored in the first inning to plate the only run Moynagh would need before junior Brady Benton (Concord, NH) and freshman Nicole DeRosa (Greenwich, CT) stroked back-to-back RBI singles in the third to make it 3-0. During the third and fourth innings, Wheaton had an 11-batter stretch during which the Lyons picked up 10 hits. The first six to come to the plate in the fourth recorded knocks, as Benton capped a six-run, eight-hit frame with a two-run homer. Poulton smacked an RBI double during the inning, and senior Erika Marini (Pawtucket, RI) poked a run-scoring single.
 
Benton finished 3-for-3 with three RBI and two runs, while Poulton had two doubles and scored twice. Senior Alix Brozman (Chappaqua, NY) added two hits and two runs, while Marini and freshman Kristen Hunt (Milford, CT) each provided two hits.
 
For Framingham State, senior Kelly Knox (Framingham, MA) took the loss after yielding three runs on seven hits in three innings before leaving the game with an injury.
 
During the opener, the Rams scored two unearned runs in the first inning before the Lyons plated 11 of the game's final 12 runs. In the first, Poulton roped an RBI double and Hunt's two-run homer put Wheaton on top, 4-2. Three more runs came around in the second on a Poulton run-scoring base knock and DeRosa's two-run shot.
 
Wheaton led by a 7-2 count in the fifth before the Rams loaded the bases with one out, but sophomore righty Andrea Bagley (Foxboro, MA) escaped the jam by yielding only one run, and her offense responded with two runs in each the fifth and sixth innings. Two unearned runs came home in the fifth before junior Stacey Kelleher (Brockton, MA) and freshman Rachel Merrick (Methuen, MA) smacked back-to-back RBI singles with two down in the sixth to create an eight-run cushion and end the game.
 
Poulton went 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBI and a double, while Merrick also recorded a trio of hits. Kelleher had two hits and two runs, while DeRosa scored three runs and drove in two.
 
Bagley went the distance for the win, yielding one earned run on five hits while striking out four and walking two. Junior Sarah Douillette (Lakeville, MA) took the loss for the Rams, allowing six earned runs on eight hits in two innings.
 
The Lyons return to action on Thursday against regional foe Rhode Island College beginning in Norton at 3 p.m., while the Rams host Fitchburg State on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Story courtesy of Wheaton College Sports Information Office.