Blue Softball Sweep Smith to End Regular Season

WELLESLEY, Mass. - The Wellesley College softball team swept a doubleheader against Smith to close out the NEWMAC regular season on Saturday afternoon. The Blue took game one 4-1 before earning an 8-0 victory in six innings during game two. Wellesley ends the regular season at 18-17-1 overall (10-6 in NEWMAC) and will await final NEWMAC seedings. Smith ends its 2012 campaign with a 4-26 (1-15 NEWMAC) mark.

In game one, the Blue broke up a scoreless tie with four runs on four hits in the sixth inning. Mariah Philips led off with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Emilyrose Havrilla. Phillips stole third while pinch-hitter Samantha Spiga walked to put runners on the corners with two outs. Rachael Goldenberg, running for Spiga, stole second before Abby Casey singled to left to plate Phillips and move the runner to third. Lauren Goldfarb followed with a double to score both Casey and Goldenberg to give Wellesley a 3-0 advantage. Maria LaBouyer added to the lead when she tripled to score Goldfarb, chasing Smith starter Kayla Kiers from the game. Tessa Clark came on in relief to retire the final batter of the inning.

Smith broke up the shutout in the seventh inning, with Kirstie Beaton leading off with a double to right. Kate Katides pinch ran for Beatan and scored when Brittany Purington doubled to left. Sarah Schwartzmeye came on in relief of starter Lindsay Johnson, inducing a line-out double play and a strikeout to end the game and earn the save.

Johnson moved to 6-4 on the season, allowing just one run and five hits over six innings of work with a pair of strikeouts. LaBouyer finished 3-3 with a triple and an RBI, while Goldfarb was 2-3 with a double, two runs driven in and one run scored. Phillips and Casey each added a pair of hits in the victory.

Kiers suffered the loss for Smith, allowing 10 hits and four runs over 5.2 innings of work. Purington led Smith with two hits, including a double.

In game two, Wellesley struck for three runs in the first and three in the third to take a 6-0 advantage. Goldfarb led off the third with a single to left and then stole second. Philips singled to left, moving Goldfarb to third before Jayne Ellis plated Goldfarb with a single up the middle. Havrilla had the big blow in the inning, driving in both Ellis and Phillips with a two-out triple.

In the third, LaBouyer started things off with a single down the left field line, followed by a single through the left side by Philips. A ground out moved the runners to second and third before a bunt single by Mara Blesoff scored LaBouyer. Havrilla again delivered the key hit in the inning, a two-run double to left to score Blesoff and Philips to make it a 6-0 game.

The blue ended the game early, scoring twice in the sixth to make it an 8-0 final. Casey singled to center, Elizabeth Murphy reached on an error and Ellis walked to load the bases with two outs. Spiga came off the bench to deliver the game-winning hit, driving in both Murphy and Casey with a single to center to give Wellesley the victory.

Goldfarb earned the win to improve to 6-5 on the year, allowing just two hits over six innings of work. Havrilla ended the game 2-3 with a double, triple and four RBI, while Philips was 2-4 with two runs scored and two driven in. Casey and Ellis each contributed with a pair of hits in the game.

Kiers took her second loss of the day for Smith, allowing seven earned runs and 13 hits over 5.2 innings. Edie Richardson and Tessa Clark singled for the Pioneers.