Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - The Smith College softball squad picked up a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) doubleheader sweep of the visiting Coast Guard Bears on Senior Day, Saturday at the Smith Softball Field. The Pioneers won game one, 7-0, and rallied to take game two, 6-5.
 
With the wins, the Pioneers improve to 10-16 overall, and 5-11 in conference play, while the Bears fall to 14-16 and 5-11 in the NEWMAC.
 
Following the doubleheader, Smith honored senior Edie Richardson (Franklin, Mass./Fontbonne Academy), who fittingly became the 14^th member of Smith's 100-hit club with a RBI-single in the Pioneers' 7-0, game one win.
 
It was sophomore Allison Snyder (Succasunna, N.J./Roxbury), however, who stole the show, as her three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning lifted the Pioneers to a 6-5 win in game two. Snyder went 7-for-8 on the day with two home runs, six RBI and four runs scored. Her two home runs give her seven on the season, tying Smith's single-season record, set by Megan Kiefer in 2008.
 
Smith 7, Coast Guard 0
Smith struck for four runs in the bottom of the first inning, as junior Joanna Giordano (South Salem, N.Y./John Jay) led off the frame with a bunt single. Giordano promptly stole second, and came around to score on Snyder's double to the gap in right field. Richardson's one-out single to right field scored Snyder from third, and first-year Rowan Turner (Prairie Village, Kan./Shawnee Mission East) cleared the bases with her first career home run, and moonshot over the scoreboard in left.
 
Four runs was more than enough for Turner, who recorded a complete game, four-hit shutout to pick up her fourth win in the circle for Smith. She struck out six and did not issue a walk. Junior Sarah Sorensen (Lakewood, Wash.) suffered the loss for Coast Guard, throwing one and two-third innings, allowing five earned runs on seven hits while striking out one. First-year Emily Dow (Topsfield, Mass.) came on in relief of Sorensen, throwing four and a third innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits.
 
Senior Jessie Richardson (Kent, Wash.), senior Erin Lisko (Waynesboro, Pa.), sophomore Cherokee Strickland (Vancleave, Miss.) and first-year Casey Cruzpino (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), each notched a hit for the Bears in the opener.
 
The Pioneers tallied 14 hits in the opener, led by Snyder, who went 4-for-4 with a double, a home run, three runs scored and three driven in. Richardson finished the game 3-for-4 with a run scored and two driven in, while Giordano went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two stolen bases.
 
In total, eight of nine Smith starters recorded a base knock in the win.
 
Smith 6, Coast Guard 5
The Bears struck first in the nightcap, as Richardson reached on a throwing error by Smith's shortstop. After she stole second, Lisko lined a shot back up the middle that scored Richardson from second and gave Coast Guard an early 1-0 advantage.
 
The Pioneers answered in the home half of the frame, as Giordano led off with a single to right field. She stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Snyder then singled back to the pitcher, as Giordano danced back to third to distract the Bears' pitcher and give Smith runners on the corner with no outs. Junior Tori Brown (New Market, Md./Linganore) lifted the first pitch she saw to the warning track, and Giordano tagged from third to tie the contest, 1-1.
 
After two scoreless frames by both sides, Coast Guard put up a four spot in the top of the fourth, highlighted by first-year Emma Hvozdovich(Palm Harbor, Fla.)'s third home run of the season, a two-run shot to left center that put the Bears ahead, 5-1.
 
The Pioneers chipped away at the Bears lead in the bottom of the fifth, as Brown's RBI-single cut Smith's deficit to three.
 
After Coast Guard stranded a pair of base runners in the top of the sixth, sophomore Sarah Tully (West Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury)'s one-out single to center gave the Pioneers life in the bottom of the frame. Sophomore Ruth Zimmerman (Edison, N.J./John P. Stevens) advanced Tully to second with a single of her own, and sophomore Brittney Blokker (Seattle, Wash./Ballard) brought Tully into score with a single to the gap in right. After the Bears recorded the second out of the inning, Snyder tagged the third pitch of her at-bat over the fence in right center to clear the bases and give Smith a lead they never relinquished.
 
The Pioneers hit three home runs on Saturday to give them 16 for the season, breaking the single-season record of 14, set by the 2004 Smith softball team.
 
Sophomore Natalie Burchat (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) recorded her first win of the season in relief of Brown and Turner, allowing just three hits over three and a third innings while striking out three and walking one. Sorensen shouldered the loss for the Bears in game two, allowing two runs on three hits in two-third innings pitched.
 
The Pioneers will return to the diamond on Monday, April 20 when they host WPI at 3 p.m. while the Bears are scheduled to host Eastern Connecticut State University on Tuesday at 3 p.m.