UPDATED: Wheaton Stops Blue Softball in Game One; Game Two Halted Due to Darkness

UPDATED: GAME TWO WILL RESUME ON FRIDAY, 4/24/15 at 5:00 PM

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Visiting Wheaton College cruised to an 8-0 game one victory over Wellesley College softball before the Blue rallied to force game two into extra innings in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) doubleheader on Friday afternoon at the Wellesley Outdoor Fields Complex. With the score tied 6-6 after nine innings of play game two was halted due to darkness. The Lyons improve to 11-0 in conference play and 19-3 overall, while Wellesley moves to 9-7 and 2-3 in NEWMAC play following the result in game one. 

Game One: Wheaton 8, Wellesley 0 (5 inn.) 

Wheaton scored three runs in the top of the second inning before adding five runs in the top of the fourth to take an 8-0, five inning, victory in game one. 

After a scoreless first inning, Wheaton junior Marissa Timoteo (Jupiter, Fla.) led off the second inning with a home run, clipping the top of the left field fence with a long fly ball before it bounced over for the first Wheaton run. 

Junior Kelly Welch followed with an infield single before advancing to second on a passed ball and moving to third on a flyout to center from classmate Erin Deneen (South Yarmouth, Mass.). Welch scored on the next batter when Mary DeMoura ripped a single to left. DeMoura would come around to score the third run of the inning on a Rebecca Seifert RBI-single two batters later. 

Wellesley put together back-to-back to singles in both the bottom of the second and third innings but were unable to get a runner around against Wheaton starter Emily Berardi (Boston, Mass.). The Wheaton senior pitched four innings, striking out a pair of hitters to earn her team-leading ninth win of the season. 

With the Blue unable to counter, the Lyons put the game away in the top of the fourth inning, scoring five runs on six hits, including a two-RBI double from Seifert that scored junior Emma Hart (Lincoln, R.I.) and Deneen. Hart reached base thanks to an RBI single earlier in the inning. 

Following Seifert's double, Wellesley first year starter Madeline Bianchi (Lakeville, Minn.) gave way to classmate Julia Warner (Kenmore, Wa.) before the Lyons tacked on the final two runs of the game, as sophomore Emily Bouthillete (Lincoln, R.I.) plated Seifert with double before sophomore Morgan Walsh (Norwell, Mass.) brought Bouthillete around. 

Game Two: Wellesley 6, Wheaton 6 (end 9th inning)

Game two opened with three consecutive scoreless frames before Wheaton jumped out to a 4-0 advantage thanks to a run in the fourth and three in the top of the fifth. 

In the fourth, Madeline Hatch (Acton, Mass.) opened the inning with a bunt single toward third base before scoring on a double from Walsh. The Lyons then scored three runs on six hits in the fourth, with the big fly coming off the bat of Hatch, as the junior launched a two-run home run down the right field line to give Wheaton a 4-0 lead. The Lyons also added a run earlier in the inning when Deneen and DeMoura opened the frame with back-to-back doubles. 

The Blue finally broke through in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring their first run of the day when senior Abby Casey (Milford, Conn.) scored on a fielder's choice RBI from classmate Maria LaBouyer (Yuba City, Calif.). However, the game moved to the seventh inning with Wellesley still trailing 4-1.

Warner surrendered only a two-out single in the top of the seventh as the game moved to the home half of the inning with Wheaton still holding a three-run advantage. Junior Carly Bresee (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) opened the inning with a single before advancing to second on a passed ball. She was then replaced on the base paths by Warner. Warner made her way to third on a wild pitch before Jaclyn Tsang (Manalapan, N.J.) gave the Blue runners on the corners with one out after being hit by a pitch. 

Casey then stepped to the dish and delivered a single to right field to score Warner and cut the deficit to 4-2. Sophomore Ashtyn Coleman (Scottsdale, Ariz.)  then followed with a single of her own, advancing to second when the throw to home plate sailed high after Tsang came across for the third Wellesley run. 

First year Amanda Manning (Durham, Calif.) then worked a one out walked to load the bases for LaBoyer. An infield fly from LaBouyer set Wellesley down to its final out before Kendra Coleman (Scottsdale, Ariz.) reached first on an error by the shortstop, allowing Casey to score before Hart, backing up the play at short, cut down Ashtyn Coleman at third with a strike from centerfield. 

With the international tiebreaker rule in place and a runner on second to open the top of the eighth, Wheaton took advantage, bringing Seifert around to score on fielders choice RBI from Deneen after Seifert had advanced to third on a passed ball. The Blue matched in the bottom half of the inning, when Emilyrose Havrilla (Caldwell, N.J.) singled to center to score Kenda Coleman after she had also been placed on second. 

In the ninth, the teams once again matched run for run, as Wheaton plated DeMoura on an RBI single from Hatch and Wellesley brought across Anna Pisac (Snohomish, Wa.) thanks to an RBI double from Casey. With little separating the two sides in extra innings, the game was halted at the end of the ninth due to darkness. 

Wellesley will return to action tomorrow with a NEWMAC doubleheader at WPI. The start time for game one, originally set for 12:00 PM, has been moved back to 1:00 PM. Wheaton will play at MIT in a NEWMAC doubleheader tomorrow at 12:00 PM. 

UPDATED: GAME TWO WILL RESUME ON FRIDAY, 4/24/15 at 5:00 PM