CLERMONT, Fla. - The Smith College softball team opened the 2019 season with a split at the PFX Spring Games. The Pioneers suffered an 11-7 loss in the opener and staged a come-from-behind rally to beat Ursinus in the game two.

GAME ONE:

• Alyssa Pioggia (East Longmeadow/East Longmeadow), Megan McGrath (Wayne, Pa./Radnor), and Lydia DeAngelo (Portsmouth, R.I./Moses Brown) each knocked in a run as Smith plated a trio of runs in the top of the first. The Fighting Scots answered back with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning thanks to aggressive base running.
• With a 4-3 lead, the Gordon pitcher Caitlin Catalanotto launched a homerun to double up the Pioneers, 6-3.
• In the top of the fifth, Smith's Jocelyn Esquer (Corona, Calif./Centennial) singled to left to bring home Pioggia to trail by two. Six hits in the bottom half of the inning produced three more runs as the Scots led 10-5.
• Continuing to fight back, Smith strung some hits together to score a pair of runs in the following inning to bring the deficit to 7-10. 
• Gordon tacked on their final run in the sixth on an RBI single from Emma DuBois.
• McGrath had two hits and three RBI, while Pioggia added two hits and two runs.
• Emma Gardecki (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxborough) went 2.0 innings and allowed six runs on five hits.

GAME TWO:

• The Bears jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first and plated three runs in the second to go ahead four runs after two.
• Smith cut the deficit in half with a two out, two run single from Emma Kraus (Wakefield, Mass./Dupon-Kraus Homeschool) in the fifth. 
• Mackenzie Brennan added an insurance run for Ursinus with her fourth hit of the game, an RBI single with two outs in the sixth.
• The Pioneers put its first six batters aboard in the seventh, tying it at 5 and re-loading the bases before the Bears were able to record an out. 
• Jane Casey-Fleener (Lexington, Mass./Lexington) put the ball in play as Lucy Grant (Bethel, Conn./Notre Dame Catholic) Grant scored the go-ahead run. 
• The Bears went down 1-2-3 in the seventh as Smith came away with the 6-5 win.
• Kraus led the offensive with three RBI off of two hits.
• Tyler Feeney (Merrimac, Mass./Pentucket Regional) finished with a hit and two runs.
• Wagner picked up her first collegiate win, allowing one run on five hits in four innings of work.

UP NEXT
Smith returns to action tomorrow with games against Franklin & Marshall (11:30 a.m.) and Becker (1:45 p.m.).

(Portions of this recap courtesy to Gordon and Ursinus Athletics)

About Smith Athletics: Smith College is an NCAA Division III member of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference that sponsors 11 intercollegiate sports. For more information log on to smithpioneers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.