Smith College Softball Game Notes
Game 20, 21	WPI at Smith (6-16, 3-7)
Date / Time	Friday, April 14, 2017 | 3:00 p.m./5:00 p.m.
Location	Northampton, Mass.
Series History	Smith leads 35-25. Last Meeting: Smith 2 WPI 4: April 15, 2016
Watch Live	Video
Follow Live	Live Stats
Team Information	Smith / WPI
Twitter	@smithpioneers
Instagram	@smithcollegesoftball | @smithpioneers

THE SERIES
The game marks the 61st meeting between the two programs, dating back to the first contest during the 1986 season - a 16-1 Smith victory. The Pioneers lead the series 35-25. WPI has won the last four meetings

LAST MEETING
A pair of strong pitching performances and timely hitting from WPI powered the Engineers to a sweep of Smith on April 15, 2016. WPI won the opener 4-2 and followed that with a 9-1 victory in game two. Tori Brown (New Market, Md./Linganore) had a stellar day at the plate for the Pioneers, going 3-for-6 with a home run.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Smith looks to snap an eight game losing streak in today's NEWMAC doubleheader against the Engineers. The Pioneers are coming off two losses to Amherst College Wednesday afternoon (2-1, 8-0). In the series, first year Elodie Townsend (Mill Valley, Calif./Tamalpais) crushed her first career home run and sophomore Tyler Feeney (Merrimac, Mass./Pentucket Regional) finished 2-for-4 from the dish. In game one senior Natalie Burchat (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) allowed two runs on six hits with two strikeouts. Senior Ally Snyder (Succasunna, N.J./Roxbury) leads the Pioneers offensively, batting .368 with 21 hits, 22 RBI and five home runs. Snyder currently holds the school record for home runs in a season (8) and career (17). Senior Brittney Blokker (Seattle, Wash./Ballard) leads Smith with 26 hits and has driven in 15 runs with 10 doubles. The Pioneers were selected to finish 8th in the NEWMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.

SCOUTING THE ENGINEERS
After claiming the programs first NEWMAC crown in 2016, WPI was tabbed as the preseason favorites this season. The Engineers return NFCA All-American Nina Murphy-Cook as well as the 2016 NEWMAC Athlete of the Year Lindsay Gurska. Murphy-Cook leads the NEWMAC in stolen bases (21) and is batting .413 with 31 hits. Junor outfielder Ama Biney is hitting .351 with 25 RBI and 26 hits. In 16 appearances, freshman pitcher Mackenzie Phillips owns a 2.67 ERA nad 5-4 record with 69 strikeouts while junior Kelsey Saucier is 7-5 with a 3.16 ERA. In a sweep of Clark on Wednesday, Philips tied her career high of 10 strikeouts in a complete-game shutout while the offense scored 13 runs on 10 hits.

UP NEXT
Smith travels to Emerson tomorrow for a conference DH beginning at 12:00 p.m.