Box Score Recap courtesy of Wheaton College
NORTON - Freshman Kristi Van Meter pitched a one-hitter in game one and senior Sarah Finnigan was 2 for 4 with three runs and two rbis in the second game as the #21 Tufts University softball team swept a doble-header at Wheaton College on Tuesday.
Van Meter struck out nine and allowed just three baserunners on the day while improving to 14-3 on the season. Allison Cox (10-12) got the start on the mound for the Lyons (13-23) allowing six hits and three earned runs on the day in the loss.
Raven Fournier was one of six different Tufts players with a hit in the first game, hers coming on a game-changing three-run homer in the fourth inning. Wheaton's Allicyn Cole ended Van Meter's no-hit bid with a single in the sixth inning and Jessica Nardozza reached twice with a pair of walks for the hosts.
After racing through the first three innings of action, Tufts' Jamie Stevens started off the offense with the first hit of the game in the top of the fourth inning that was just out of the reach of Wheaton's shortstop Cole. Sofia Molina followed that up with a sharp hit to first base. Jade Assad tried to get the lead runner, but her throw tailed off to left field as the Jumbos put runners on first and second for cleanup hitter Fournier. She drove both of them in with a home run to deep center to put Tufts up 3-0 three-and-a-half innings in.
Wheaton got their first baserunner on as Nardozza drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the fourth, but was stranded at first.
In the top half of the fifth, Tufts plated another run. After Maggie Lebinski started things off with an infield single to short, Emma Della Volpe made it runners on first and second with a single up the middle. Edie Huling loaded the bases slapping an infield single back to the pitcher and beating the throw to first. Lebinski was plated by a sacrifice fly to center field by Stevens to make it a 4-0 game.
Tufts' Kelsey Dion ripped one almost through the left side in the sixth, but it was gobbled up by Cole who got to her feet and nearly threw out the Tufts DP at first. Cole raced into shallow left to track down a blooper by Mia Steinberg and Nardozza caught the final out of the inning in right to end the threat heading into the bottom half of the sixth.
Cole followed up her stellar defensive inning with a hit in the bottom half of the frame, the first of the day for the Lyons, blooping a single into right field.
Wheaton threatened to end the shutout bid in the bottom of the seventh as Nardozza led off with a walk, advanced to second in the next at bat and moved over to third on a wild pitch, but Tufts ended the game with the shutout.
For the Jumbos in game two, Sarah Finnigan finished 2 of 4 with three runs and two rbis in the victory. Raven Fournier was a perfect 3-for-3.
Emily Schlapak led the way for the Lyons in the nightcap with a 2 for 2 effort including her third homer of the season.
Kristina Haghdan and Raina Galbiati split the majority of time on the mound for Tufts with Haghdan picking up her 10th win of the season. Cassie Cancemi finished out the run-rule game for the Jumbos.
Allison Cox continued her outing into the second game of the day for the Lyons pitching 4.2 innings, allowing eight runs on 10 hits. Jade Assad slid over to the mound in relief of Cox in the fifth and allowed three hits and one earned run in 1.1 innings of relief.
The Tufts offense came out firing in the first inning batting through the lineup and finishing the half-inning with five hits and taking advantage of a Lyon miscue to start the game off with a 4-0 advantage. Christian Cain, Fournier and Lebinski had rbis in the frame.
After a single to right field by Jade Assad to start off the second inning, Schlapak countered in the bottom of the second with the Lyons' first runs of the day cranking a shot to right-center field for the two-run homer to cut the Tufts lead in half.
Tufts got those two runs back in the top of the third inning when Sarah Finnigan blasted one down the left field line for a two-run homer scoring Fournier to take back a 6-2 lead.
The Jumbos added another four runs in the fifth, highlighted by a two-rbi single up the middle by Reegan Coleman to make it an 8-2 ballgame.
In the sixth, Tufts added another pair to make it a 10-2 ballgame where it would stand.
The Jumbos (28-7) nwill play Wesleyan in the first round of the NESCAC Tournament on Friday at Amherst College. Wheaton ended its season with today's games.
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