NORTHAMPTON, Mass.--The season comes to a close for the Smith College softball team (4-24, 1-13 NEWMAC) when the Pioneers travel to Wellesley College (16-17-1, 8-6 NEWMAC) on Saturday afternoon.


Last Meeting: The Blue swept Smith 12-2 and 10-3 on April 8, 2011.  Brittany Purington (Weare, N.H./John Stark) hit her first career home run in the second game.

Last Smith Win:  Smith won both games of a doubleheader, 6-5 and 3-2 on April 14, 2007.  Taryn Pestalozzi hit a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the seventh to give the Pioneers the win in the opener, and in the nightcap, the Pioneers pushed across the winning run in the sixth inning on Megan Keifer's sacrifice fly.

Smith Overview: The Pioneers finished up their home slate with a doubleheader sweep at the hands of Clark University 14-1 and 10-1 on Friday afternoon.  After the two games, Smith's four seniors - Sarah Goodman (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford Mendon), Kirstie Beaton (Osterville, Mass./Barnstable), Neelma Qureshi (Falls Church, Va./Jeb Stuart), and Kate Durkin (Victor, N.Y./Allendale Columbia) were honored for their contributions to the program.

Wellesley Overview:  The Blue are one of three teams with an 8-6 record in NEWMAC play - currently in sixth place, the Blue's final position is up in the air on the final day of the regular season.  Last night, Wellesley split with Wheaton, falling 1-0 in the opener before winning the nightcap 8-6 in walkoff fashion.

Smith Player to Watch: First year shortstop Edie Richardson (Franklin, Mass./Fontbonne Academy) had only two hits in her first 11 games - since then, she's hit safely in 14 of the last 17.

Wellesley Player to Watch: Junior pitcher Sarah Schwartzmeyer in 74.1 innings of work in the circle.

Did you know? The Blue are one of two teams in the NEWMAC to have a game end in a tie this year - a non-conference matchup with Endicott was called after seven innings due to darkness on April 18.