NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – The Smith College softball team (6-1) opens New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action with a doubleheader against Babson (8-3) on Sunday at The Playground at Rotch Park in Boston. The twinbill is slated to start at 3:30 p.m. following a pair of non-conference games between Emerson and Johnson & Wales.
Last Meeting: The Beavers took two from the Pioneers - 10-0 (5 inn.) and 11-4 - on April 20, 2013 in Babson Park.
The Series: Smith leads 28-23. The Pioneers last defeated the Beavers on April 7, 2012 with a 15-7 victory in six innings. Smith last earned a sweep – 5-2 and 1-0 - on April 14, 2003.
Fast Facts: Babson played 20 innings on Wednesday, including a 5-1 setback to Tufts, the defending national champions in 11 innings…the Beavers bounced back with a 3-2 victory over SUNY Geneseo in nine…Kathleen Conway has struck out a NEWMAC-best 59 batters…Meaghan Merullo and Emily Morris have both gone yard once this season…graduate assistant coach Sarah Goodman belted a grand slam to help deliver the most recent Pioneer victory over the Beavers…
Edie Richardson (Franklin, Mass./Fontbonne Academy) batted 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI a walk and three runs scored in the triumph…
Gina Martucci (Pompton Plains, N.J./Pequannock Township) leads the league with a 0.23 ERA…six Pioneers are hitting .300 or better,
Caroline Kushner (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire) (.478),
Edie Richardson (Franklin, Mass./Fontbonne Academy) (.458),
Tori Brown (New Market, Md./Linganore) (.385),
Joanna Giordano (South Salem, N.Y./John Jay) (.375),
Ruth Zimmerman (Edison, N.J./John P. Stevens) (.333) and
Brittney Blokker (Seattle, Wash./Ballard) (.300)…
Allison Snyder (Succasunna, N.J./Roxbury) has a team-best five extra base hits with four doubles and a triple.
Next Up: Both teams step out of conference action with 3:00 p.m. sets on Wednesday. The Pioneers head to Western New England while Babson hosts Bridgewater State.
