Blue Softball Sweeps By Emerson To Extend Win Streak To Seven Games

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Senior Kendra Coleman (Scottsdale, Ariz.) hit a pair of home runs in game one and first year Autumn Brown (Marshfield, Mass.) went deep in game two to help Wellesley College softball sweep a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) doubleheader over visiting Emerson College on Wednesday at the Wellesley Fields Complex. Wellesley won both games in five innings, winning game one 12-4 and game two 11-2. 

With the victory the Blue, now winners of seven-straight, are 13-4 overall and 8-2 in NEWMAC games. Emerson falls to 5-20 on the year and 1-9 in conference. 

Wellesley 12, Emerson 4 (5 innings)

Kendra Coleman finished 3-for-4 with two home runs, three runs scored and four RBIs to lead the Blue to a 12-4 victory in game one. 

Coleman, who entered the game with two career home runs, homered in her first and third at-bats to stake the Blue to a commanding 9-1 lead after three innings. Junior Julia Warner (Kenmore, Wash.) matched Kendra Coleman with three hits, while also driving in two runs. Senior Anna Pisac (Snohomish, Wash.) added two RBIs and a double, as Pisac, senior Ashtyn Coleman (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and junior Amanda Manning (Chico, Calif.) each finished with two hits in the contest. Manning's first hit came on a lead-off home run, her third of the season.

Senior Shelby Carney (North Reading, Mass.) was 1-for-2 with a double and an RBI to lead the Lions, who also got base hits from junior Jillian Gearin (Hermosa Beach, Calif.), sophomores Kallista Leonardos (El Granda, Calif.) and Caroline Fortuna (Higganum, Conn.) and first year Marisa DeFranco (Falls Church, Va.). Starting pitcher Keely Marquez (La Verne, Calif.) dropped to 3-8 after failing to get out of a first inning that saw the Blue score four runs before they recorded an out. 

After Emerson opened the game with a run in the top of the first, Manning homered to right to lead-off the home half of the inning before the next batter, Kendra Coleman, launched her first home run to left. Ashtyn Coleman followed with an infield single and scored when Pisac registered an RBI double to center. Pisac would later come around to score on a wild pitch. A walk to first year Kendall Smith (Turlock, Calif.) ended the day for Marquez, but the Blue got two more runs later in the inning when Warner singled to center to score Brown and Smith.

Pisac tacked on the seventh Wellesley run with an RBI single in the bottom of the second, before the Blue added another crooked number to the scoreboard in the third thanks to Kendra Coleman. An infield hit from Warner and a walk to Manning left two-on and no-out for the Blue senior, who launched a three-run home run to left that landed in nearly the same spot as her first.

Emerson rallied for three runs on two hits in the top of the fourth, with Fortuna and Carney both delivering RBI hits after Warner allowed a pair of runners to reach while picking up the first two outs of the inning. The fourth inning trouble would be the last for the Wellesley starter, as Warner finished with nine strikeouts over five innings to improve to 5-1 on the season. 

A Manning RBI single in the bottom of the fourth stretched the Wellesley advantage to 11-4. With the Blue needing just one run to end the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, Ashtyn Coleman hit her team-leading fifth home run of the season, a solo shot, over the right field fence to send the Blue to a 12-4 walk-off win.

Game Two: Wellesley 11, Emerson 2 (5 innings)

Wellesley extended their season-best win streak to seven games with an 11-2 victory in game two. The Blue scored four runs in the first, five runs in the second and two runs in the third, never trailing en route to the doubleheader sweep.

Brown delivered the big blast, hitting her third home run of the season to cap off the four-run first inning rally for the Blue. Brown finished game two 2-for-2 with a walk, one run scored an two RBIs. Pisac, Kendra Coleman and Ashtyn Coleman all doubled in game two, while Pisac also dropped down a triple in the first inning. Ashtyn Coleman led all players with four RBIs, while Pisac had a pair and Smith and Kendra Coleman also brought runners around to score. In the circle, Sydney Hopper (Newcastle, Wash.) pitched four innings and surrendered just two hits to move to 4-0 on the year.

Leonardos and junior Molly Goldstein (Ridgefield, Conn.) each had base hits for Emerson in game two. Leonardos drove in a run in the top of the third, reaching bases on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded. Gearin added the other Emerson run with a sacrifice fly later in the inning. DeFranco started the nightcap for the Lions, pitching 1.1 innings, while surrendering seven runs, six earned, on five hits to move to 0-2 on the season. 

Wellesley did all of the damage in the first inning with two outs. Ashtyn Coleman reach on a two-out single to open the inning, scoring on Pisac's RBI triple to right. A walk to Smith put runners on the corners, but Pisac would score when the Emerson shortstop failed to cover second on a double steal attempt. With Smith on second and two runs in, Brown's home run made the score 4-0 when it landed beyond the centerfield fence.

Five more Wellesley runners touched the plate in the bottom of the second inning. Ashtyn Coleman drove in a pair of runs with an RBI single, while Kendra Coleman and Pisac each delivered RBI doubles in the inning and Smith added an RBI single of her own to make the score 9-0. Emerson chipped away with two runs in the top of the third, but the Blue got both back in the home half of the inning when Ashtyn Coleman doubled to score Kendra Coleman and Manning. From there, it was Hopper's show, as the sophomore only allowed one hit in the final two innings to close out the game.

Wellesley will host Wheaton in a NEWMAC doubleheader on Friday, April 14, at 3:00 PM. Emerson will also play Friday when they host Babson at 3:00 PM.