BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University softball team dropped a pair of games to visiting Wheaton College on Thursday afternoon at windy Alumni Park. Wheaton posted an 11-5 victory in the opener and completed the sweep with a 6-1 win game two.

The Lyons improve to 8-6 on the season with the pair of wins, while the Bears fall to 7-10-1. Wheaton holds a 32-30 advantage in the all-time series which dates back to 1976.

Game One: Wheaton 11, Bridgewater State 5

Wheaton got on the board with a run in the top of the first inning. Freshman Juliette Zito (Woodbridge, Conn.) led off the frame with a base hit, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and to third on a ground out. Senior Katelyn Barton (Andover, N.H.) followed with a walked and intentionally got caught in a rundown between first and second with Zito touching home plate before Barton was tagged out.

Sophomore first baseman Morgan Cournoyer (Burrillville, R.I.) belted her team-leading fourth home run of the season, a solo blast over the left field fence, to knot the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the second inning. The Bears loaded the bases with two outs later in the frame on three successive base hits but were unable to tack on any more runs.

After the Lyons failed to score after loading the bases in the top of the third inning, the Bears capitalized on a Wheaton error in the home half of the third to push across the go ahead run. Senior shortstop Megan Sharon (East Longmeadow, Mass.) reached on a two-base throwing error, advanced to third on a wild pitch and raced home on junior second baseman Kerrin McLaughlin's (Haverhill, Mass.) squeeze bunt.

The Lyons jumped ahead with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning. Sophomore designated player Lindsey Oliveira (Westport, Mass.) singled with one out and scored all the way from first on freshman right fielder Jillian Rohon's (Southington, Conn.) RBI double. Rohon advanced to third on a ground out and, following a walk, crossed the plate when Zito reached on an error.

Trailing 3-2, the BSU offense answered with three runs in the bottom of the fourth to reclaim the lead. The Bears loaded the bases with nobody out on a walk and back-to-back bunt singles. One out later, Sharon lined a base hit into right field to tie the game and graduate centerfielder Alexandra Ruprecht (Kingston, R.I.) followed with a bases loaded walk to put the hosts back on top. A throwing error on a shallow fly out to right accounted for the final run of the inning.

Wheaton exploded for six runs (all unearned) in the top of the fifth inning to jump back on top, 9-5. Rohon, sophomore third baseman Amanda Bogardus (Saco, Maine) and sophomore left fielder Allison Weston (West Islip, N.Y.) connected for three successive RBI singles while Zito capped off the frame with a three-run homer.

The Lyons tacked on two more runs in the sixth to extend the lead to 11-5. Rohon knocked in a run with a base hit and the second run of the inning came across as a result of a wild pitch and BSU throwing error.

Zito and Rohon collected three hits apiece to pace the Lyons' 12-hit attack. Zito went 3-for-5 with a home run, two runs and three RBI, while Rohon was 3-for-4 at the plate with a double, two runs and three RBI. Oliveira also recorded multiple hits for Wheaton as she singled twice in four at bats and scored three runs.

Sophomore right fielder Madison Flamme (Bethel, Conn.) led the BSU offense in game one as she was a perfect 3-for-3 and scored a run. Freshman third baseman Emily Marcotte (North Dighton, Mass.) checked in with a pair of singles and a run in four trips to plate.

Wheaton sophomore righthander Sofia Knopf (Norton, Mass.) earned the win in relief of senior starter Sarah Pritchard (Malta, N.Y.). Knopf (2-3) tossed 3 2/3 shutout innings allowing just a pair of hits and walk while fanning two. Pritchard went the first 3 1/3 innings giving up five runs (three earned) on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Senior righty Kelley Reichert (Milford, Mass.) was saddled with the loss for the Bears. Reichert (4-3) gave up nine runs, only two of which were earned, on ten hits over 4 2/3 innings of work with three walks and three strikeouts.

Game Two: Wheaton 6, Bridgewater State 1

Senior righthander Emma Candelaria (Hampton Bays, N.Y.) tossed a complete game four-hitter to lead the Lyons to the 6-1 victory in game two and a sweep of the twinbill. Candelaria (4-2) allowed just one unearned run, walked one and fanned two.

Zito homered again in the nightcap as she went 4-for-5 with a run and two RBI. She finished 7-for-9 in the doubleheader with two home runs, three runs scored and five runs batted in.

Rohon contributed three more hits, including a pair of doubles, and drove in a run in game two. She went 6-for-8 on the afternoon with three doubles, two runs and four RBI.

The Lyons took advantage of three BSU errors to push across a pair of unearned runs in the top of the first inning. Zito smacked a two-run homer over the left field fence in the top of the second to extend the lead to 4-0.

Barton doubled and scored on Rohon's RBI double in the third to make it a 4-0 game. The Lyons tacked on a run in the fourth on an RBI single off the bat of senior first baseman Tristan Keller (Plymouth, N.H.).

The Bears broke up the shutout bid with an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Marcotte struck out but reached second on a passed ball and throwing error by the catcher. Senior left fielder Emma Healy (Plymouth, Mass.) followed with an RBI double to the gap in left-center but was also thrown out trying to stretch the double into a triple.

Sophomore catcher Jill Cedia (Hopkinton, Mass.) also finished with multiple hits for the Lyons in the nightcap as she went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.

Healy added a walk to her RBI double to highlight the BSU offense in game two.

Reichert pitched effectively in three scoreless innings of relief scattering four hits with one walk and a pair of strikeouts.

Both teams open conference play on Saturday afternoon. The Bears entertain the Trailblazers of MCLA in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) doubleheaders with game one getting underway at one o'clock. The Lyons travel to Clark University for a noontime New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) twinbill with the Cougars.