WELLESLEY SOFTBALL WINS 2014 NEWMAC CHAMPIONSHIP

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- The Wellesley College softball team captured the 2014 NEWMAC Tournament Championship Saturday, thanks to a strong pitching performance by senior Lindsay Johnson and a timely homerun from junior Emilyrose Havrilla.  

The Blue battled Smith sophomore pitcher Gina Martucci to a 0-0 score through five and a half innings before Havrilla's two-out homerun put Wellesley in front in the sixth. Johnson then struck out the side in the seventh to wrap up Wellesley's first title since 2007. 

Wellesley improves to 27-9 on the season will await seedings for the NCAA Tournament, announced Monday at 10:00am. Smith moves to 19-12 and will look for a possible ECAC bid this week.

Wellesley looked to have the early advantage in the game, loading the bases in the top of the first inning. Ashtyn Coleman and Maria LaBouyer sandwiched singles around a Smith fielding error that allowed Jaclyn Tsang to reach. With the bases loaded and no outs, Smith's Martucci induced three straight ground balls, the first two getting the lead runner at the plate and the last, a groundout to short, to end the threat.

Smith's Edie Richardson led off the top of the fifth with a double to right center breaking up Johnson's perfect game bid. A sacrifice bunt followed, moving pinch runner, Kristina Gaffny to third with one out. However, Johnson struck out the final two batters of the frame, stranding the runner at third and ending the Pioneer half of the frame. 

Martucci worked around a two-out double from Wellesley's Ashtyn Coleman in the bottom of the fifth, but a slick play from Smith's Brittney Blokker to corral a soft liner ended the Blue rally. 

In the top of the sixth, Smith's Tully doubled to start the inning, giving the Pioneers another lead-off two-bagger. Tully was sent to third on sacrifice bunt, but a nice play from Wellelsey's Jayne Ellis at first, erased her at the plate for the second out of the inning. With the lead runner eliminated, Smith drew a walk before Johnson grabbed a liner up the middle to get out unscathed, setting up Havrilla's blast in the bottom of the frame.  

Coleman led the Blue at the plate with a two-hit performance, while Smith's offense was limited to just the doubles from Richardson and Snyder. 

Johnson nabbed her 18th victory of the season, tying the all-time season mark for wins by a Wellesley pitcher (Jenna Harvey '08 - 18). She threw seven scoreless innings, allowing just two hits with nine strikeouts and a walk. 

Martucci threw six innings for Smith, allowing one run and scattering five hits. She struck out five without a walk, moving to 18-7 on the season. 

Following the game, Johnson was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. She went 3-0 in the tournament, allowing just two earned runs, while striking out 14.