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Box Score 2 NORTHAMPTON, Mass. –
Tori Brown (New Market, Md./Linganore)'s sixth-inning two-run blast proved to be the difference in game two as the Smith College softball team split a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) doubleheader with league-leading Wellesley on Saturday. The Blue took game one 9-0 in five innings while the Pioneers rallied to a 5-3 win in game two.
Smith (10-7, 4-6) handed Wellesley (11-7, 7-1) its first NEWMAC loss of the season and, in the process, snapped the guest's nine-game winning streak. It was also the first time the Pioneers defeated the Blue since April 14, 2007.
Down 3-2, with two outs and runners on the corners, in the bottom of the sixth,
Brittney Blokker (Seattle, Wash./Ballard) and
Joanna Giordano (South Salem, N.Y./John Jay) executed a double steal to even the game at 3-3. Brown sent the next pitch over the fence in left center to give the Pioneers the 5-3 lead.
Caroline Kushner (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire) fielded a ground out and later erased the lead runner on a fielder's choice. After a single to get a runner in scoring position,
Gina Martucci (Pompton Plains, N.J./Pequannock Township) fanned the final batter of the game.
Ashtyn Coleman opened the contest with a single up the middle. Jaclyn Tsang followed with a two-run shot down the left field line for the early 2-0 lead. Two batters later, Jayne Ellis used a solo homerun to make it a 3-0 ballgame.
Smith slowly chipped away as Blokker drove in Giordano in the bottom of the third and Kushner plated Blokker in the fifth.
Edie Richardson (Franklin, Mass./Fontbonne Academy) went 2-for-3 as Brown drove in a pair and Blokker crossed home plate twice. Martucci (9-3) surrendered three runs – all in the first – and struck out three in the complete-game victory.
Ellis batted 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Maria LaBouyer had a 2-for-4 day while Coleman was 2-for-3. Tsang accounted for a pair of RBI. Amber Braun allowed two runs – one earned – on six hits in 4 1/3 as Lindsay Johnson went the final 1 2 /3.
Wellesley jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opener as Emilyrose Harvilla tucked a grand slam just inside the left field line. After a double and a single, Martucci and the defense then set down the next five Blue batters in order.
The Blue added two more in the third as Havrilla doubled through the right side to plate Ellis and later scored on an RBI ground out by Kendra Coleman. The guests then picked up three more tallies in the fifth as Kendra Coleman connected on an RBI single to right and Anna Pisac used a 2-RBI single to give Wellesley the 9-0 advantage.
Brown broke up the no-hit bid with a short grounder down the first base line in the fourth. Martucci and
Natalie Burchat (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) shared time in the circle for the Pioneers.
Kendra Coleman (two runs, two RBI), Ellis and Havrilla each had a pair of hits in the win while Havrilla produced five RBI. Pisac added two RBI as Ellis scored three times. Johnson struck out seven – all swinging - in the victory.
The Pioneers travel to Westfield State on Tuesday for a non-conference doubleheader beginning at 3:30 p.m. Wellesley heads to Coast Guard for a conference set tomorrow at noon.
