Softball Splits Tuesday Twin Bill at Wheaton After 3-2 Win in Game Two

NORTON, Mass. - Emmanuel Saints softball battled to a split of Tuesday's doubleheader against Wheaton after dropping the first game 3-0, the Saints took the win in game two, 3-2, in non-conference play at Clark Softball Field. The Saints have split or won both games of a doubleheader in their last five series, with the last occasion of being swept coming in a doubleheader on April 2 against Wentworth.

GAME ONE: Wheaton 3 - Emmanuel 0

Lyons sophomore starting pitcher Peyton Blankenheim-Brown (Rio Linda, Calif.) hurled a six-hit shutout and drove in a run to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) softball team over visiting Emmanuel College, 3-0, in the first game of the doubleheader. 

The Lyons made the most of their chances, scoring twice in the bottom of the first and added an insurance run in the fifth.

Blankenheim-Brown struck out a career-high seven batters and issued just one walk in seven complete innings to improve to 3-2 for Wheaton. She was 2-3 at the plate. Junior right fielder Jillian Rohon (Southington, Conn.) was 1-2 with a triple and a run scored. 

Senior shortstop Olivia Conti (Cranston, R.I.) paced Emmanuel at the plate with a 1-3 effort that included a double, junior second baseAmanda Penney (Warwick, R.I.) reached base with a walk and a single. Junior starting pitcher Madison Marks (Edgewater Park, N.J.) dropped to 5-7 after giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits and three walks to go with a strikeout in six complete innings.

The Lyons put two runs on the board with just one hit in the opening frame. Junior left fielder Juliette Zito (Woodbridge, Conn.) and first year second base Ella Molinari (Grafton, Mass.) book-ended an out with walks to put runners on first and second to open the frame. The pair moved into scoring position when Zito made the move to third when the catcher couldn't squeeze a pitch into her glove. Senior third base Bryanna Agan (Averill Park, N.Y.) followed with a sacrifice fly to right field to plate the first run of the day. Blankenheim-Brown helped her own cause with an RBI single to left to give the home team a 2-0 margin.

Wheaton tacked on a run in the fifth to take a 3-0 lead. Rohon broke up a string of nine straight batters retired by Marks when she smacked a one-out triple to right field. Zito followed with a sacrifice fly to left field to bring home Rohon with the final run of the contest. 

The Saints' best chance to score in the game came in the top of the fourth when Conti whacked a one-out double to left field and advanced to third on a ground out, but was stranded there when Blankenheim-Brown fanned the next batter to end the threat. 

Emmanuel put two runners on base in the seventh after singles from first-year right fielder Alexis Martineau (Merrimack, N.H.) and first-year third base Mia Fernandes (Taunton, Mass.), but again Blankenheim-Brown escaped without any damage after a game-ending strikeout.

GAME TWO: Emmanuel 3 - Wheaton 2

In game two, the Saints pitching combo of junior Mackenzie Briggs (West Warwick, R.I.) and Marks allowed just two hits to Wheaton while the Emmanuel offense took advantage of five Lyons errors to claim a 3-2 win.

The Saints were out in front in the top of the second, scoring thanks to a Wheaton miscue, giving Emmanuel a 1-0 lead. Three batters later, another error in the Wheaton outfield helped the Saints double their lead to 2-0.

Briggs got the game two start for the Saints and allowed no hits through three innings, a streak that continued until a single by Molinari gave Wheaton its first hit in the bottom of the fourth. After a groundout moved Molinari to second, an RBI single by Agan cut the deficit to 2-1 through four innings.

Wheaton tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth via a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Riley Dolan (Coram, N.Y.) that scored sophomore Amber Arcand (Millville, Mass.).

Emmanuel answered back in the top of the sixth with a bunt-scoring run of their own as first-year MeKayla Poisson (Peabody, Mass.) looked to move runners over with a bunt, but the Lyons pitcher who fielded the play tried to get out the lead runner at third, but a throwing error instead allowed first-year Madison Ryder (Middleboro, Mass.) to score, giving the Saints a 3-2 lead.

Wheaton left three runners on in the final two innings, including a runner on third in the sixth and a runner on second in the seventh, but Marks shut down the Lyons in the final moments, helping the Saints to a 3-2 win.

Saints junior Taylor Chelak (Westborough, Mass.) and Ryder each had two hits in the second game, including the only extra base hit by Ryder, a double in the top of the second. 

For Wheaton, Agan and Dolan were the only Lyons to earn a base hit off Saints pitching in game two, both coming off Briggs. 

The Saints (12-12) return home for a pair of doubleheaders this weekend, starting with a pair on Saturday, April 20, against Regis, before welcoming Norwich to Clemente on Sunday, April 21.

**Portions of this release courtesy Wheaton Athletic Communications Office