Blue Softball Sweeps Dean in Non-Conference Doubleheader

WELLESLEY, Mass. – First year Chiara Lundin (Piedmont, Calif.) hit a walkoff double in game one and junior Aniko Alexander (Gaithersburg, Md.) homered in game two to lift Wellesley College softball to a doubleheader sweep of Dean College in non-conference play on Wednesday afternoon. 

Game 1 | Wellesley 7, Dean 6 | Final

Wellesley (6-17-1 overall) rallied from a pair of deficits to take game one, 7-6 in walkoff fashion. Sophomore Lauren Young (Fresno, Calif.) pitched a complete game to earn the win (3-3) for the Blue with a season-high seven strikeouts. 

Dean (3-24-1 overall) struck first with an RBI double from senior Alex Maroe (Danvers, Mass.) in the top of the first but the Blue quickly erased the lead when Ellie DeCleene (North Reading, Mass.) advanced home on a throwing error in the bottom half of the inning.

Following a scoreless second, Dean took a 3-1 lead in the top of the third scoring on an RBI groundout from senior Gianna Bencivengo (White Plains, N.Y.) before junior Jilian Glynn (Londonderry, N.H.) drove in a run with a single to center. Glynn also struck out two over six innings in the loss for the Bulldogs.

Trailing for the second time in the contest, Wellesley put up four runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 5-3 lead. Lundin opened the scoring by driving in classmate Andrea Delgado (Miami, Fla.) before first year Emeline Gaunce (Los Altos, Calif.) junior Julz Vargas (Los Angeles, Calif.) and sophomore Charis Chung (San Gabriel, Calif.) each added RBIs in the inning. The Blue tacked on one more run in the fifth to take a 6-3 edge when senior Ingrid Hsu (San Ramon, Calif.) doubled to right to score Chung.

Down to their final three outs, the Bulldogs staged a comeback to tie the game at 6-6 in the top of the seventh. After a leadoff single, Glynn brought in a run with a double. Senior Sarah Graeff (Petersham, Mass.) cut the lead to 6-5 with an RBI groundout to second and junior Meredith Landers (Littleton, Mass.) tied the game with a single just over third base.

Following a lead-off walk to Delgado to open the bottom of the seventh, Lundin blasted a shot to dead center to drive home the first year and give Wellesley the 7-6 victory.

Game 2 | Wellesley 4, Dean 2 | Final

Alexander went 2-for-3 and hit a sixth inning home run and junior Marisa Sgambati (Scottsdale, Ariz.) was 2-for-3 at the plate and went the distance in the circle to help the Blue secure the sweep with a 4-2 win in game two. The home run was the first of Alexander's career.

Following a scoreless first, Wellesley jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second when an RBI single from Gaunce scored Lundin. Wellesley then tacked on another run in the fifth. Hsu opened the inning with a double down the left field line before swiping third on a delayed steal. DeCleene followed, hitting a single up the middle to score Hsu from third and make the score 2-0.

Sgambati moved the game to the bottom of the sixth with a sixth consecutive scoreless frame. In the bottom half of the inning, Gaunce singled before Alexander stepped in and drove the ball beyond the centerfield fence to make the score 4-0. Guance finished game two 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. 

Alexander's two-run blast proved to be pivotal for the Blue as Dean scratched across a pair of runs in the top of the seventh. Glynn and Graeff opened the inning with back to back singles before ​​a Blue error allowed both runs to score. With Wellesley now leading 4-2, Sgambati ended the threat, striking out senior Zoe Coleman (Warwick, R.I.) to end the inning and the game. Sgambati finished with four strikeouts and surrendered just one earned run to earn her second win (2-8) of the season. Coleman took the loss (1-5), giving up ten hits and four runs over six innings.

Wellesley hosts Babson in a pair of New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) games on Friday at 3:00 & 5:00 PM. Dean returns home to face Fisher on Saturday with games at 1:00 & 3:00 PM.