NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - The Smith College softball team will host New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play this weekend when the Pioneers welcome Clark on Friday and MIT Saturday.
Weekend Softball Schedule
Smith College
Scout: The Pioneers (4-8) have had more than a week to prepare for their conference home-opener as their last outing was March 24th against Western New England. Smith held the lead late in both games, but the Golden Bears rallied for a pair of come from behind wins in the non-conference doubleheader. The Pioneers dropped the opener 4-3 in nine innings and fell 5-4 in the nightcap that went eight innings. Junior Brittney blokker leads Smith offensively, batting .421 with 16 hits, while
Emma Kraus (Wakefield, Mass./Wakefield)' rookie campaign is off to a hot start as she's hitting .415 with 17 hits, 10 runs and eight RBI. Junior Ally Snyder leads the Pioneers with two home runs and 11 RBI. Kraus is tied for third in the NEWMAC with nine stolen bases. Smith was chosen to finish seventh in the Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Clark
All-Time Series Record: In a series that began in 1984, Clark leads 36-21.
Last Meeting: Smith outscored Clark, 14-2 in their doubleheader on April 12, 2015.
Rowan Turner (Prairie Village, Kan./Shawnee Mission East) earned her first career complete-game shutout victory in game one, striking out a career-high seven and scattered eight hits with one walk, while
Allison Snyder (Succasunna, N.J./Roxbury) was 4-for-7 (.571) on the day with two home runs, two runs scored and four RBI. The Pioneers won game one, 4-0, and finished off the sweep with a 10-2 romp in game two.
Scout: At 8-12, the Cougars earned a sweep over Anna Maria College Tuesday. In that game, Clark's 3-4 hitters -- Lauren Mackey and Rachel Kraytenberg -- had nine hits in 11 combined at-bats.
Kraytenberg leads the NEWMAC in RBI (23) and is hitting a team-best .431 with five home runs.
Sophomore pitchers Sami West (3-7, 2.93 ERA) and Brenna Foley (4-3, 3.68 ERA) will likely be the starters against the Pioneers.
Clark is led by Linda Wage who is in her 28th season.
The Cougars were selected to finish 10th in the Preseason Coaches' Poll.
MIT
All-Time Series Record: In a series dating back to the 1984 season, Smith leads 36-23. The Pioneers last win came on April 1, 2014 and won 18 straight meetings from 1998 to 2006.
Last Meeting: In last season's doubleheader, MIT struck in extra innings for a 2-1 win in game one and used a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the seventh inning in the second game.
Brittney Blokker (Seattle, Wash./Ballard) led the Pioneers offensively going 4-for-7.
Scout: Currently 9-5, the Engineers are scheduled to play at Babson Friday. MIT earned its first ever sweep over Williams College Thursday afternoon. Senior Tori Jensen broke the program record for hits in a career last Saturday against Clark. Senior pitcher Alexandra Marshall was named the NEWMAC Pitcher of the Week on Monday after she sported an ERA of 0.92 allowing eight runs in 30.1 innings for a record of 4-2. Marshall leads the conference in ERA (0.99), strikeouts (81) and wins (6). The Engineers were picked to finish third in the Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Up Next: Smith plays a non-conference doubleheader Wednesday at Westfield State.
2016 NEWMAC Softball Standings| School | Conference | Overall |
| MIT | 2-0 | 9-5 |
| Wellesley | 2-0 | 6-6 |
| WPI | 3-1 | 14-4 |
| Babson | 1-1 | 10-6 |
| Springfield | 2-2 | 8-6 |
| Wheaton | 1-1 | 7-7 |
| Smith | 1-1 | 4-8 |
| Clark | 0-2 | 8-12 |
| Emerson | 0-2 | 8-12 |
| Coat Guard | 0-2 | 5-13 |
