Wildcats fall to Lesley, heading for playoffs

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Wheelock College softball team battled regular season champion Lesley University tough Sunday afternoon, but fell in both ends of a double-header, 1-0 and 5-1. Despite the losses, the Wildcats have secured the sixth seed in the New England Collegiate Conference and will head to Mitchell College Tuesday afteroon for the first round of playoffs.

Game One

Wheelock pitcher Stacy Seidner (Pembroke, N.H.) held the Lynx to just one run over seven innings, but Lesley still was able to hold on for the 1-0 victory.  Seidner pitched the complete game, giving up just four hits and one run while striking out two in the loss.

Her opposition on the mound for the Lynx was senior ace Alicia Burnett (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) who improved to 13-6.  Burnett gave up just two first inning hits and walked one batter while striking out 10 Wildcat batters in the victory.

Lesley's lone run came in the bottom of the second inning.  Sarah Wilson (Lowell, Mass.) led off the inning by crushing a Seidner offering to deep left centerfield for a double.  Christina DiGiorgio (Lowell, Mass.) followed with a bunt single that advance Wilson to third base.  After a strikeout, designated player Chelsea Quackenbush (East Hampton, Conn.) hit a towering fly ball to right field for the sacrifice fly to bring in Wilson. 

Wheelock would get the tying run on base in the top of the seventh inning with a Kristen Brock (Plainville, Mass.) walk, but Burnett escape the jam to solidify a win in game one.

Game Two

The Lesley offense came alive early in a game two victory that saw the Lynx win 5-1.  In the bottom of the first inning, sophomore Alyson Durben (Stow, Mass.) stroked a triple to left centerfield that scored Lani Cabral-Pini (Wilmington, Mass.) who had walked to reach base, then stole second.  Later in the inning, Sarah Wilson and Gianna Spaziante (Hawthorne, N.Y.) would earn RBIs via a single and sacrifice fly, respectively.  Two other runs scored by a passed ball and a wild pitch.

The Wildcat defense held the Lynx in check for the rest of the game and Wheelock would score their first run of the afternoon on a RBI single up the middle by Elise Ordile (Waltham, Mass.) in the fifth inning.

Wheelock threatened to inflict more damage in top of the seventh inning with two outs after a single by Stacy Seidner and a ground-rule double by Nicole Zina (Bristol, R.I.).  With two runners in scoring position, Lynx pitcher Cassandra Knox forced an Ordile fly out to end the game.

Knox struck out six batters in the complete game victory.  The freshman improved to 9-4 as she gave up just one unearned run on four hits and two walks.

With the number six seed, the Wildcats will travel to number three Mitchell College Tuesday afternoon for a 4:00 game.