Smith Sweeps Wellesley in NEWMAC Doubleheader

Northampton, Mass. – Wellesley College softball juniors Anna Pisac (Snohomish, Wash.) and Ashtyn Coleman (Scottsdale, Ariz.) each surpassed 100 career hits but host Smith College swept to a pair of New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) softball victories over the visiting Blue on Saturday afternoon. The Pioneers rallied early for a 10-9 win in the first game before defeating the Blue 5-1 in game two. 

Smith improves to 8-12 on the season and 5-5 in conference play.  The Blue have now dropped four straight conference games after starting NEWMAC play 4-0.  Wellesley's overall record now stands at 8-10.

Game One: Smith 10, Wellesley 9

Pisac hit her conference-leading ninth home run of the season but Smith rallied from an early 5-0 deficit to take a 10-9 win in game one.

Pisac's three-run homerun got the scoring started in the first inning.  An RBI single by sophomore Zein Aburish (Alexandria, Va.) and an RBI groundout by senior Jaclyn Tsang (Manalapan, N.J.) had the Blue out to an early five-run lead after an inning and a half.

A seven-run bottom of the second gave the Pioneers their first lead.  The first seven batters that Smith sent to the plate in the inning reached base, as the Pioneers gained the advantage without the benefit of an extra base hit.

A two run single by first-year Veronica Locher (Walnut Creek, Calif.) tied the game for Wellesley in the top of the fourth, but in the bottom of the inning a solo homerun by junior Allison Snyder (Succasunna, N.J.) and a two-run double by junior Sarah Tully (West Simsbury, Conn.) gave the Pioneers the lead for good.

Ashtyn Coleman collected her fourth hit of the game with a two-RBI single in the top of the seventh, but the Blue were unable to plate the tying run.

Both pitchers went the distance as Smith junior Natalie Burchat (Shrewsbury, MA) improved to 5-3, while Wellesley sophomore Julia Warner (Kenmore, Wash.) dropped to 2-4.  The Pioneers had nine different players score at least one run.

Game Two: Smith 5, Wellesley 1

The Pioneers jumped in front early in game two, boosted by a three-run double by Tully.  The score remained the same until Smith added two more runs in the fifth.

Pisac's NEWMAC-leading 30th RBI closed the gap to 5-1 in the last frame, but that was as close as the Blue would get.  Again, both pitchers tossed complete games as Wellesley sophomore Madeline Bianchi (Lakeville, Minn.) fell to 6-5 and Smith sophomore Rowan Turner (Prairie Village, Kan.) improved to 3-5.

Wellesley hosts Clark on Sunday in a NEWMAC make-up game from an earlier rainout.  The games against Clark will finish a stretch of six games in three days for the Blue.  The Pioneers will host a non-conference double-header against Amherst on Wednesday.