For Immediate Release
April 5, 2008
Courtesy Springfield Sports Information
Wellesley Softball Sweeps Doubleheader from Springfield
Game One Box
Game Two Box
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Wellesley College softball team swept a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) doubleheader on the road against Springfied. The Blue took game one 5-1 and won game two, 7-3.
In game one, Wellesley broke a scoreless tie with a run in the top of the fifth inning. Ali Davis (Glen Ellyn, IL) lead off the inning reaching on a error and later came around to score off of a single from Ilana Orloff (Weston, MA). Springfield answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the sixth inning off of two singles.
With the score knotted at 1-1, Wellesley exploded with four runs in the top of the sixth inning. Amanda Tai (Melrose, MA) led off the inning with a single and Orloff reached on an error. With two on, Kara Wong (Milford, MA) singled to score Tai. After Alex Warren (Delta, BC) reached on a Pride error, Megan Wood (Jacksonville, FL) knocked in Orloff to move the score to 3-1 in favor of the Blue. Wellesley later added an insurance run off of a Meghan Sullivan (Markam, Ontario) single and pushed the score to 5-1 on a sacrifice fly from Jenna Harvey (London, Ontario).
In the bottom of the seventh, Harvey, the Blue starter, retired three straight Springfield players to seal the 5-1 win. She finished the game with a seven inning, four-hit performance allowing only one run while striking out 10.
For Springfield, Samantha Rhodes got the start, throwing all seven, allowing six hits and giving up five runs, three earned.
The Pride struck first in game two with two runs in the bottom of the second inning. After a leadoff walk and two passed balls, Jessica Hillman singled in a run to make it 1-0. Springfield picked up their second run of the inning off of an RBI bunt single from Kogut that scored Danielle Spiro.
The Blue answered with a five-run third inning highlighted by hits from Alex Coari (Geneva, IL) and Tai, an RBI single from Wood and an RBI double from Sullivan. Wong picked up an RBI by reaching on a error while Warren also drove in a run on a groundout.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Springfield scored off of a Wellesley error that closed the gap to 5-3. However, Wong hit a solo homerun in the top of the seventh to increase the Blue lead to 6-3. After the homerun, Warren double and Wood picked up her second hit and RBI of the game to set the score to 7-3 where it would stay.
Barbarajean Grundlock (Blackwood, NJ) picked up the win for Wellesley, tossing seven innings allowing three runs off of seven hits. She struck out 11 in the win, her sixth of the season.
Springfield was led by Michelle Wlosek who had two hits in the game. Hillman and Shanda Kogut each added RBI. On the mound, Katie Anderson picked up the loss throwing 6.1 innings allowing eight hits and sevn runs (four earned).
The wins improve Wellesley to 13-4-1 and 6-2 in the NEWMAC. Springfield falls to 9-11, 3-5 in the conference.
Wellesley will next take on Tufts University at home on Sunday beginning at 1:00pm.