Softball Caps Florida Trip; Falls to Worcester St., Stevens

CLERMONT, Fla. -- Wellesley College softball closed out their annual trip to Florida on Thursday morning, dropping a 6-3 decision to Worcester State University and a 6-5 final in eight innings to Stevens Institute of Technology in a pair of non-conference games. The Blue now own a 2-6 overall record on the season.

Worcester St. 6, Wellesley 3

The Blue rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to take a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, only to see the Lancers rally for two runs in the top of the fourth and two more in the top of the seventh to take a 6-3 victory in game one.

Senior Carly Bresee (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) collected a game-high three hits for Wellesley, while junior Ashtyn Coleman (Scottsdale, Ariz.) added two hits and an RBI. Junior Sydney Despres (Sterling, Mass.) hit a pair of home runs for Worcester St., driving in a game-high three RBIs in the contest.

The Lancers took a 1-0 lead in the first when senior Taylor Daniels (Norco, Calif.) singled to score Courtney Salisbury (Cranston, R.I.), after the junior had opened the game with a single of her own. The second Worcester St. run scored in the second inning when starting pitcher Kayla Humphrey (Wallingford, Conn.) helped her own cause with an RBI single, scoring senior Hayley Terry (N. Dighton, Mass.).

Humphrey scattered 11 hits over seven innings, striking out a pair to earn her second win of the season. Wellesley starter Julia Warner (Kenmore, Wash.) also gave up 11 hits, while striking out eight, in a complete game effort.

The Blue scored three runs in the bottom of the second to take a 3-2 lead. Warner opened the inning with a single before advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt and third on a wild pitch. Warner completed her trip around the bases when classmate Amanda Manning (Durham, Calif.) singled to right. Bresse followed with a single to set up senior Jaclyn Tsang (Manalapan, N.J.), as Tsang smacked an RBI double to left, scoring Manning and shifting Bresee to third. Bresee made the score 3-0 when Ashtyn Coleman brought her home with an RBI ground out.

The Blue held on to the lead until the top of the fourth when Despres and Daniels opened the inning with back-to-back home runs to vault the Lancers back in front, 4-3. Despres later provided insurance in the top of the seventh inning with her second home run, a two-run shot to center, that helped Worcester close out the 6-3 victory. 

Stevens Institute 6, Wellesley 5 - 8 innings

Senior Gavriella Risman-Jones (New Boston, N.H.) delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift Stevens Institute to a 6-5 victory over Wellesley in a back-and-forth Florida finale for the Blue.

The Blue took a 1-0 advantage in the first inning, when Ashtyn Coleman singled to left to score Tsang. Coleman advanced to second thanks to an error on the play but would ultimately end the inning stranded on base.

The Ducks countered with a pair of runs in the home half of the first when sophomore Corinne Loncar (Goodyear, Ariz.) delivered a two-RBI double to right center to give the Ducks a 2-1 advantage. However, the first Stevens lead was short lived, as a two-out error allowed Warner to score in the bottom of the second. 

The score remained tied until the top of the fourth inning when Ashtyn Coleman added two more RBIs to her total with a single to left. Both Bresee and Tsang reached base with two away in the frame to set up Coleman to put the Blue back ahead, 4-2. Wellesley would tack on another run in the top of the fifth, taking a 5-2 lead when Warner drove home Kendra Coleman (Scottsdale, Ariz.) with an RBI groundout.

Stevens came all the way back to tie the contest in the bottom of the fifth. Sophomore Lauren Shirley (Oceanport, N.J.) opened the inning with a double. Junior Emily Sellitti (Sayville, N.Y.) then reached base on an error before first year Katherine Tirabassi (Freehold, N.J.) walked to load the bases with no outs. Blue starter Madeleine Bianchi (Lakeville, Minn.) retired the next Stevens batter on strikes but the Ducks broke through when junior Amanda DiLeo (Brooklyn, N.Y.) singled up the middle to plate a pair of runs. A Wellesley error allowed the tying run to score but the Blue cut down the go-ahead run on a play at home to send the game into the sixth tied at 5-5.

The game advanced to extras before Stevens was the first team to find the difference when Risman-Jones singled to center to score DiLeo, after she had been placed on second to open the inning.

Wellesley returns to Massachusetts to open New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Saturday afternoon at Emerson College. Game one of the doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 12:00 PM.