NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - The Smith College softball team continues New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play this weekend when the Pioneers travel to Springfield on Friday and host Wellesley Saturday.
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 Weekend Softball Schedule
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SmithÂ
Scout: The Pioneers (6-10, 3-3) will play for the first time this week after weather forced a postponement of their game at Westfield State Tuesday. In their last outing, Smith was overpowered by MIT, dropping both games of the doubleheader.
Brittney Blokker (Seattle, Wash./Ballard) (.373) and
Emma Kraus (Wakefield, Mass./Wakefield) (.358) each have 19 hits on the season and combine for 18 RBI while Ally Snyder is batting .298 with 14 hits and 12 RBI.
Natalie Burchat (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) (4-3) boasts a 3.50 ERA in 46.0 innings pitched, while
Rowan Turner (Prairie Village, Kan./Shawnee Mission East) is 2-4 in the circle with a 4.51 ERA. Kraus is fourth in the NEWMAC with 10 stolen bases. Smith was chosen to finish seventh in the Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 SpringfieldÂ
 All-Time Series Record: In a series that began in 1999, Springfield leads 29-10. Smith's last win came on April 26, 2014 in the NEWMAC Tournament and the Pride are 12-3 playing at home.Â
 Last Meeting: Springfield swept a pair of NEWMAC games in 2015 as the Pride claimed a 8-5 win in game one and a 4-3 victory in game two. Snyder led the Pioneers at the plate going 4-for-6 with a home run.Â
Scout: At 11-7, the Pride earned a split with Western Connecticut State University, highlighted by a two-out, bases loaded, game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning off the bat of senior Melissa Nelson Wednesday afternoon. Springfield dropped game one in nine innings, 7-6, and prevailed in the second, 3-2. The Pride are led by Jenna Webb who is batting .414 with 24 hits and 13 runs, while Kirsten Drobiak has a team-high 13 RBI. Talia Loda and Nicole Cring share pitching duties for the Pride. Loda enters Friday's game with a 4-4 record, including three complete games with a 3.67 ERA in 55.1 innings while Cring (4-2) has an ERA of 2.73 in 41.0 innings. Julie Perrelli enters her seventh season at the helm of the Springfield College softball program after coaching three years at Smith. The Pride were selected to finish fifth in the Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Wellesley
All-Time Series Record: Dating back to 2005, the Blue lead 16-8. The Pioneers are 5-7 playing at home.
Last Meeting: Tori Brown (New Market, Md./Linganore) and Ally Snyder each knocked one out of the park in Smith's split with Wellesley. The Pioneers dropped game one, 6-4, but rebounded for a 7-6 win in game two. Brown earned her first win of the season and went 3-for-4 at the plate in game two.
Scout: Wellesley (8-6, 4-0) will host Babson Friday afternoon before Saturday's game against the Pioneers. The Blue are currently on a six game win streak and have not played since last Saturday. Junior Anna Pisac was named the NEWMAC Player of the Week on Monday after smashing a pair of home runs and recording 10 RBI while posting a line of .429/.500/1.000 to help lead the Blue to a 4-0 record with wins over Brandeis and Coast Guard. Pisac leads the conference in home runs (7) and RBI (25) ranks in the top-five in the NCAA in slugging percentage and home runs per game. In the circle, Madeline Bianchi sports a 6-3 record with a 2.70 ERA in 59.2 innings pitched. The Blue are coached by Keri O'Meara who started the softball program in 2003. Wellesley was picked to finish fourth in the Preseason Coaches' Poll.
         2016 NEWMAC Softball Standings
| School |
Conference |
Overall |
| MIT |
6-0 |
13-5 |
| Wellesley |
4-0 |
8-6 |
| WPI |
3-1 |
14-4 |
| Wheaton |
3-1 |
9-7 |
| Springfield |
4-2 |
11-7 |
| Smith |
3-3 |
6-10 |
| Babson |
1-3 |
10-8 |
| Clark |
0-4 |
8-14 |
| Coast Guard |
0-4 |
7-15 |
| Emerson |
0-6 |
8-16 |
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