DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The UMass Dartmouth softball team fell to Wheaton College in the season home opener on Thursday afternoon in double header non-conference action. The Corsairs dropped to a 10-4 mark after falling in game one, 12-4, followed by a 5-2 loss in the second game to move the Lyons to a 10-2 overall record.
Wheaton got to work early in the first inning by taking a 4-0 lead featuring four different Lyons notching a RBI. In the top of the third inning, the visitors tacked on five more runs off four hits to claim a 9-0 advantage. After the Lyons cashed in another run in the top of the fifth, the Corsairs posted their first runs of the game in the bottom of the inning. Sophomore infielder
Chaylin Cruz Salgado singled up the middle to score senior outfielder
Jillian Walsh home. Junior catcher
Lena Tsonis then reached first on an error by the Lyons second baseman to bring two more runs in and make it a 10-3 game.
In the top of sixth, Jillian Zito doubled to left center for an RBI to move Wheaton to a 12-3 lead. Walsh picked up a late RBI in the bottom of the sixth after doubling to center field to score sophomore outfielder
Olivia Ali home, but the Lyons secured the win in game one by a final score of 12-4.
Walsh ended the game by going 3-for-3 at the plate with the lone double for the Corsairs along with one RBI and one run. Tsonis tallied two RBI for UMass Dartmouth while Cruz Salgado also recorded one RBI with one hit off one at-bat along with one run and a stolen base.
First year pitcher
Edy Crawford picked up the loss after allowing four earned runs off five hits with two walks and one strikeout. Sophomore pitcher
Lily Routhier threw two innings giving up five earned runs off four hits after facing 13 batters. First year
Riley Giard pitched the following inning allowing just two hits. Sophomore pitcher
Arienna Boss closed the game pitching the last two innings giving up two runs and three hits while recording one strikeout.
In game two, Wheaton once again made quick work in the opening inning as Peyton Blankenheim-Brown recorded a two RBI double to give the visitors a 2-0 lead. The Lyons continued to add three more runs in the top of the third to pull away with a 5-0 advantage. In the bottom of the fifth, senior infielder
Larissa Piessens doubled to right center for two RBI scoring junior infielder
Emma Talpey and Ali home, but the Lyons sealed game two with a 5-2 victory over the Corsairs.
Talpey led UMass Dartmouth in game two after going 2-for-3 with a double and one run. Piessens and junior infielder RaeLynn Perreguax each tallied one hit while Piessens produced two RBI. In the circle, Crawford took the loss after pitching the first three innings, allowing five runs off nine hits along with one punchout. Giard finished the contest giving up just one hit and striking out two batters.
UMass Dartmouth is back on the diamond on Tuesday, Mar. 25 playing at Brandeis University for their next non-conference double header. The first game is slated for a 3:00 p.m. start time followed by game two at 5:00 p.m.
