NEW LONDON, Conn. — Smith College softball (16-17, 8-8 NEWMAC) and the United States Coast Guard Academy traded blowouts in a NEWMAC doubleheader Saturday at Nitchman Field, with the Bears taking the opener 11-5 behind a complete-game victory from Violet Peverly (Granby, CT/Loomis Chaffee) before Coast Guard responded with a 10-2 run-rule win in the nightcap.
Game 1: Smith 11, Coast Guard 5
The Bears erased an early 2-0 deficit with a five-run third inning that sent 10 batters to the plate. Elinor Washington (Sacramento, CA/Pleasant Grove) sparked the rally with a leadoff single, and after a sacrifice bunt from Lily Hackett (Concord, NH/Concord), Gabbie Chinnis (Charleston, SC/Charleston County School of Arts) singled up the middle to put runners at the corners. Ally Knutson (Green Bay, WI/Bay Port) drove in Washington and Chinnis with a fielder's choice, and Peverly followed with an RBI single. Bailey Gray (Missouri City, TX/Ridge Point) capped the surge with a two-run double to left center, and an error on the next at-bat brought home two more.
Smith added another five-spot in the fifth. After Knutson singled, Peverly launched a two-run home run to left field for her first long ball of the season. Sophie Hasegawa (Palos Verdes Estates, CA/Palos Verdes) added a sacrifice fly, and Chinnis plated the inning's fifth run with an RBI groundout. Taz Tamai (Cincinati, OH/The Seven Hills School) doubled and scored on a Washington RBI single in the seventh to push the lead to nine.
In the circle, Peverly went the distance for her ninth win of the season, scattering 10 hits over seven innings with six strikeouts and just two walks. She allowed three earned runs, with all three Coast Guard runs after the first inning coming on solo home runs from Zoey Lynn, Hayden Reilly and Mack Murnane.
Offensively, Smith collected 11 hits. Peverly, Tamai, Washington and Bailey Gray (Missouri City, TX/Ridge Point) each finished 2-for-4, with Tamai and Bailey Gray (Missouri City, TX/Ridge Point) contributing doubles. Knutson, Peverly and Bailey Gray (Missouri City, TX/Ridge Point) each drove in a run, while Peverly's homer accounted for two RBI.
Game 2: Coast Guard 10, Smith 2 (6 inn.)
Coast Guard scored in five of its six at-bats, breaking the game open with a four-run fifth and a five-run sixth to end the contest via run-rule. The Bears managed eight hits and produced their lone runs in the third inning, when Hackett singled, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on Knutson's RBI single up the middle. Riley Veenstra (Oakland, CA/Bishop O'Dowd) added a run-scoring single later in the frame to make it 2-1.
Coast Guard's offense responded with four runs in the fifth, capitalizing on three Smith errors, before Bridget Bartz's two-run home run in the sixth ignited a five-run inning that ended the game. Bailey Gray (Missouri City, TX/Ridge Point) took the loss in the circle, allowing seven runs (three earned) on six hits with three strikeouts over 5.0 innings.
Bailey Gray (Missouri City, TX/Ridge Point) led the Smith offense with a 2-for-3 effort at the plate. Knutson, Peverly, Veenstra, Washington, Chinnis and Hackett each added a hit.
Up Next
Smith returns home for a key NEWMAC doubleheader against No. 24 Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Friday, May 1, with first pitch set for 3 p.m. in Northampton.
About Smith Athletics Smith College is a NCAA Division III member of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) that sponsors 11 intercollegiate sports. For more information, log on to GoSmithBears.com and follow the Bears on Facebook and Instagram.
