Wellesley Softball Falls to MIT

WELLESLEY, Mass. - Sound pitching performances led MIT to two wins over Wellesley College softball to open New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Saturday.

The strong pitching of first year Caroline Langmeyer (Upper Arlington, Ohio) propelled MIT (14-1 Overall, 2-0 NEWMAC) to a 4-0 win in game one while sophomore Becca O'Connor (San Antonio, Texas) picked up the win in game two.

Wellesley sophomore Lauren Young (Fresno, Calif.) and senior Marisa Sgambati (Scottsdale, Ariz.) both pitched complete games for the Blue (2-9-1 Overall, 0-2 NEWMAC) with Young recording a pair of hits.

Game 1 | MIT 4, Wellesley 0 | Final 

After loading the bases the Engineers scored two in the top of the first, including a run on a single from junior Rylie Spiegel (Rumson, N.J.). The Engineers brought their lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the second with a run scoring on a fielder's choice from sophomore Kennedy Adkison (San Jose, Calif.) followed by classmate Mikayla Cable (Valrico, Fla.) doubled in the fourth run of the game.

The rest of the game was scoreless with both Langmeyer and Young shutting down any offensive chances for either team. The Blue had runners on first and second in the bottom of the sixth with a single from junior Elli DeCleene (North Reading, Mass.) before Langmeyer got out of the jam to keep MIT's lead unblemished. 

Langmeyer struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh to close out the win for MIT. The first year struck out six over seven scoreless innings, while allowing just three hits. Young struck out three in the complete game effort, with MIT spreading out 10 hits across seven innings.

Game 2 | MIT 3, Wellesley 0 | Final

Game two saw Sgambati take the circle opposite O'Connor. Both pitchers started strong, with Sgambati retiring the first nine batters she faced. 

The Engineers capitalized on an error in the top of the fourth with sophomore Mackenzie Bivin (San Diego, Calif.) doubling in the run. In the top of the fifth MIT tacked on a second run off of an Adkison single.

A throwing error on a steal allowed Bivin to score in the top of the sixth, bringing MIT's lead to 3-0, where it remained until Langmeyer retired the final batter to earn her second save of the season.

Sgambati threw all seven innings for Wellesley, striking out three. Young reached base in all three of her at bats for the Blue, with a pair of singles and a walk.

O'Connor struck out one over five shutout innings before grad student Deb Torres (Portage, Mich.) and Langmeyer each threw a scoreless inning.

The Blue stay home on Wednesday to host Endicott in non-conference games at 3:00 and 5:00 PM while the Engineers travel to Emerson for a pair of NEWMAC games on Friday at 3:00 and 5:00 PM.