SPRINGFIELD, Mass. –  The number three seed United States Coast Guard Academy softball team scored the only two runs of the game on a two-run home run in the sixth inning to defeat sixth-seeded Wheaton College (Mass.), 2-0, this afternoon in the opening round of the NEWMAC Championship at Potter Field on the campus of number two seed Springfield College in Springfield, Mass.

The Lyons fall to 22-17 on the season and will play again on Friday, May 5 in the 10:00 a.m. loser's bracket contest of the double-elimination tournament at host top-seeded Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The other opponent will be determined after games played tomorrow at MIT, following a rain out at the site today. The Bears improve to 30-9 and will play host Springfield today at 4:30 p.m.

The teams combined for nine hits and one walk in a tidy 67 minutes of play. 

Sophomore left fielder Juliette Zito (Woodbridge, Conn.), junior second base Bryanna Agan (Averill Park, N.Y.), junior shortstop Lindsey Oliveira (Westport, Mass.) and first year first base Lily Platt (Hallowell, Maine) all went 1-3 in the game to pace the Wheaton offense. Junior starting pitcher Sofia Knopf (Norton, Mass.) was the tough-luck losing pitcher, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk to go with three strikeouts in six complete innings to fall to 10-8 on the season. 

Senior second base Selena Serna (San Diego, Calif.) decided the contest with a two-run homer for Coast Guard, while junior center fielder Christine Carey (San Diego, Calif.) was 2-3 with a run scored and junior Isabelle Shroyer (Marysville, Ohio) was 2-2 with a double. First year starting pitcher Dana Walker (Macon, Ga.) improves to 16-4 after hurling a four-hit, no walk shutout in addition to fanning a pair of batters.

The Bears scored the only two runs of the day in the bottom of the sixth. Carey opened the frame with a bunt single, before Serna hit a blast over the right center field fence to provide both of Coast Guard's runs for a 2-0 lead. Knopf retired the next two batters on harmless pop-ups, but the Bears got the runs that they needed.

Platt singled down the right field line with two outs in the top of the seventh to give the Lyons some hope, but the next batter struck out to end the game.

Outside of Coast Guard's half of the sixth, there weren't that many other scoring chances for either side. Zito reached on an error to open the game for Wheaton in the top of the first and looked to have second base stolen, but the momentum of her slide on the turf carried her past the bag just enough to get tagged out on the play. Oliveira later singled to right field with two outs, but it proved to be harmless with no one on base.

The Bears threatened to score the first run of the contest in the bottom of the fifth when Shroyer ripped a leadoff double down the left field line and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. Knopf bared down for the Lyons and got the next two batters on a strikeout and a flyout to left field to end the inning.

Game 4 - Springfield 1 | Coast Guard 0

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Second-seeded Springfield College softball walked off with 1-0 win over third-seeded Coast Guard on the opening day of the 2023 NEWMAC Championship. The victory pushes the Pride into the winner's bracket and to 34-7 on the year, while Coast Guard drops to an elimination game come Friday and to 30-10 on the season.

Springfield and Coast Guard both entered today ranked in the second edition of the NCAA Division III Region II Rankings. The Pride were slotted at fourth, while Coast Guard sits sixth of seven teams from the region.

Today's postseason game was an all-out pitchers' duel and was scoreless until the bottom of the seventh inning. Springfield pitcher Gillian Kane (New Canaan, Conn.) and Coast Guard starter Isabelle Shroyer went out for out.

Kane improved to 13-4 in the circle as she allowed just two hits, one a bunt single in the fourth by Christina Carey and the other in the top of the seventh on a hit to center by Natalie Beck. Beck reached third in the seventh as what would have been the go ahead run, but Kane retired the side and Coast Guard left two on base to keep the game scoreless.

Kristen Acocella (Redding, Conn.) began the bottom of the seventh with a double to left center, moved to third on a ground out to second by Breannah McCann (San Diego, Calif.) and scored the game winning run on a bunt by Alli Olsen (Ridgewood, N.J.).

Today's victory for Springfield marked the 150th win on Alden Street for head coach Kate Bowen and is the fourth coach in program history to obtain that many wins while at Springfield.

The Pride will now await for their opponent to be decided from the other pod of games for a winner's bracket contest on Friday, May 5 at 4:00 at top-seeded MIT. Springfield will either face fourth-seeded WPI, fifth-seeded Babson or the host Engineers.