Blue Softball Sweeps NEWMAC Doubleheader Against Emerson

BOSTON, Mass. -- The Wellesley College softball team improved to 4-0 in NEWMAC play, topping Emerson College in a doubleheader on Tuesday evening. Wellesley nabbed a high-scoring game one, 11-6, and then took game two, 4-1. 

The wins even Wellesley's season mark to 6-6, while Emerson is 10-9 overall.

In game one, Wellesley jumped out to a 7-0 lead and then held on for an 11-6 win. Senior Jayne Ellis led the Blue at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a homerun, a triple, and a double, driving in three RBI.

Ellis gave the Blue an early 2-0 lead, belting a homerun to left center that scored sophomore Jaclyn Tsang in the top of the first inning. Two innings later, first-year Ashtyn Coleman doubled in sophomore Abby Casey, while Ellis hit an RBI triple to score junior Maria LaBouyer, making it 5-0 Blue. 

Wellesley stretched its lead to 7-0 in the top of the fifth inning, as junior Emilyrose Havrilla laced a home run to center, plating Ellis. 

Emerson battled back to make it 7-6 with six runs in the bottom of the fifth, using five hits and a Wellesley error to get back into the game. Brittany Rochford started the scoring with an RBI single, but the big hit of the inning game off the bat of Shannon Torosian who knocked in a grand slam to make it 7-5. Bianca Buono added a RBI single in the inning, cutting the Blue advantage to just one run.

Wellesley put the game away for good in the top of the seventh, scoring four insurance runs to make it 11-6 Blue. LaBouyer drove in Tsang with a sacrifice fly to right field before senior Jennifer Migliore added a three-run home run, scoring Havrilla and Ellis.

In the bottom of the seventh, Wellesley senior Lindsay Johnson worked around a lead-off single to seal the 11-6 Blue victory.

Offensively for the Blue, Ellis reached base all four times she came up, with three hits and a walk. Migliore and Tsang also had three-hit games for the Blue, with Migliore driving in three runs. Ashtyn Coleman, LaBouyer, and Havrilla also drove in runs for Wellesley.

Blue senior Lindsay Johnson picked up the victory, throwing a complete game for Wellesley. She allowed just one earned run on nine hits with two strikeouts. 

Emerson was paced by three hits from Torosian, while Jenna Gianelli added a double for the Lions. 

In game two, Emerson jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, but Wellesley put up two runs in the top of the third and one each in the sixth and seventh to nab the 4-1 win.

The Lions got on the board in the bottom of the first as a single from Tatiana Motevalli-Oliner came around to score on an RBI single through the left side from Monique Medina. That would be the last time the Lions would score, as Blue pitcher, sophomore Amber Braun, shut down Emerson the rest of the way. 

Wellesley tied things up a 1-1 in the top of the third with a solo home run from Ashtyn Coleman. The Blue then took the lead as a Tsang single came around to score on a double steal situation. Havrilla drew a throw to second and kept the Emerson defense off balance enough for Tsang to sneak past home to make it 2-1. 

The Blue added another run in the sixth with an RBI single from Casey, while Migliore drove in the final run with a single in the seventh, setting the final to 4-1 Wellesley.

Braun got the win for the Blue, throwing all seven innings, allowing only one run on four hits. She was aided by a Wellesley offense that recorded 12 total hits, two each from Coleman, Tsang, LaBouyer, Migliore, and first-year Anna Pisac. 

Emerson's Monique Medina led the Lions with a pair of hits and the lone RBI. 

Wellesley is back in action tomorrow, traveling to Brandeis for a 3:00pm non-conference twinbill. Emerson will head to Cambridge next to take on MIT in a doubleheader this Friday at 3:00pm.