Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 WORCESTER, Mass. - Tori Brown (New Market, Md./Linganore) had a stellar day at the plate but the WPI softball team received a pair of strong pitching performances and timely hitting to sweep a NEWMAC doubleheader against Smith on Friday at Rooftop Field, winning the opener, 4-2, and then coming alive at the plate for a mercy-rule shortened 9-1 victory in six innings in the nightcap.

Game 1: Smith 2 WPI 4

Clare Doollin hurled six scoreless innings, scattering four singles and striking out another four to win a competitive first game and improve to 10-1 on the season. Casey Arpin kept it going with another strong performance on the mound in game two, also allowing just four hits and one earned run in a six-inning complete game to move to a perfect 4-0 for the year.

Catcher Lindsay Gurska put the host Engineers in front right off the bat, slugging a two-run bomb to right field in the bottom of the first inning, also scoring sophomore center fielder Ama Biney, as Gurska rocked her team-leading seventh home run of the season.

WPI (23-5, 11-1) held that same 2-0 advantage into the sixth inning, where the home side tacked on another two runs to give Doolin enough cushion to pull out the win.

Standout freshman Caraline Wood singled to lead off and then Smith helped WPI load the bases with a throwing error and a hit batsman. Katie Chagami also wore one with the bases loaded, with her hit by pitch driving in Wood for what would turn out to be the winning run.

Jacquelyne DiTroia singled up the middle on the next at bat to bring in Rianna May from third base to compete the Engineers' scoring and make it 4-0 at the time.

The Pioneers got two back in the seventh on a run-scoring single by Lindsay Lord and an RBI ground out by Allison Snyder (Succasunna, N.J./Roxbury) before relief pitcher Caroline Medino ended the danger.

Game 2: Smith 1 WPI 9 (Six Innings)

WPI didn't let it get so close in the second game of the afternoon thanks to a three-hit game by Kristin Gallagher, who hit a walk-off single to center in the sixth inning to seal the doubleheader sweep.

Gallagher played a part in five of the Engineers' nine runs, starting with a second inning single as she later came around to score during a four-run inning for WPI.

May scored to put WPI ahead for good after Smith plunked Natalie Fabrizio with the based loaded. Gallagher scored on the next at bat after a bad throw to first on what would have been a strikeout by DiTroia.

Two runs scored on the ensuing at bat by Nina Murphy-Cook, as Julie Veitch took home on a wild pitch, and then Murphy-Cook brought in Fabrizio on a hit-and-run grounder to third to make it 4-0 early on.

Murphy-Cook came through again in the bottom of the fourth inning, hitting a two-out double to left field that brought in DiTroia to push the score to 5-0.

Tori Brown (New Market, Md./Linganore) led off the next half inning with a solo home run to center field, but that was the only run the Pioneers would be able to bring across.
The hosts put the game out of reach with five hits and three runs in the bottom half of the inning, including a two-run single down the right field line by Gallagher.

Wood collected her third hit of the day as she and Gurska both singled and then came in to score on Gallagher's well-placed hit.
Murphy-Cook (2 for 4) made it 8-1 with a ground out later in the inning that scored Gallagher, also she wasn't credited with another RBI because Smith committed a fielding error two batters earlier.

It was Gallagher's turn at the plate again in the sixth inning and she put the mercy rule into effect by driving in May.
The third baseman Brown led Smith's offense, going 3 for the day.

Junior Natalie Burchat (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) was the only other Smith player with hits in both games Friday. She also pitched a seven-hit complete game in the opener.

WPI moves on to play a doubleheader at Wellesley on Saturday, beginning at noon. Smith, which fell to 8-15 overall and 5-7 in the NEWMAC, will host doubleheader against Emerson out in Northampton on Saturday.

(Recap courtesy to WPI Sports Information)