Springfield, Mass. –  May 9, 2024 - The top-seeded Springfield College softball team used a seven-run second inning to power past second-seeded Wheaton College, 9-6, on Thursday afternoon on Potter Field in day three of the 2024 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament.
 
The win boosted the Pride's record to 29-9-1 on the year as it moved on to face WPI in an elimination game scheduled for 3:00 pm later this afternoon.  The loss ended the Lyons season at 22-17.

In a game where Springfield produced 16 hits, Lucy Puskas (Roxbury, Conn.) and Breannah McCann (Poway, Calif.) each had three hits on the afternoon to fuel the offense. Amelia DeRosa (Miller Place, N.Y.) came in to pitch four innings of relief and earned the victory to move to 15-6 on the year.  For Wheaton, Peyton Blankenheim-Brown (Rio Linda, Calif.) had three of the visitors eight hits, while Jill Ceddia (Hopkinton, Mass.) drove in a pair of runs. 
 
The Lyons benefited from a two-out error by the Pride in the top of the second which allowed Lindsey Oliveira (Westport, Mass.) to cross home plate after she previously reached on a fielder's choice for the game's first run.
 
Springfield answered right back as it manufactured seven runs off eight hits to take a commanding 7-1 lead after two innings of play.  Puskas and Emily Whelan (Hopkinton, Mass.) got things started with back-to-back doubles before Ava Rainone (White Plains, N.Y.) connected on a run-scoring base knock and both Alli Olsen (Ridgewood, N.J.) and DeRosa smashed run-scoring doubles of their own.  Callie Gendron (Berlin, Conn.) tacked on a RBI single up the middle and Puskas added another RBI single to help the Pride's lead balloon to 7-1.
 
Wheaton did not back down and strung together three-straight hits to start off the third, with Blankenheim-Brown connecting on a double off the right field fence which plated Juliette Zito (Woodbridge, Conn.) who led off with a single. The Lyons would add two more runs on ground outs to trim the hosts lead to 7-4.
 
The Pride added two more runs in the fourth, as with the bases loaded Michaela Ponticello (Gloversville, N.Y.) ripped an infield single to score McCann before Rainone was able to draw a walk to force in Puskas. 
 
In the fifth, Wheaton got a run back as a Springfield fielding miscue with a pair of runners allowed Bryanna Agan (Averill Park, N.Y.) to score.  Wheaton's seventh-inning rally got one run across on a double to right center from Ceddia, only to have DeRosa settle in to get the final two outs to help Springfield's season continue.

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