WELLESLEY, Mass. – The Wellesley softball team picked up a doubleheader sweep over NEWMAC-rival MIT on Wednesday afternoon.  The Blue took the opener 7-2, and won the nightcap, 11-3 in five innings.  The wins increase Wellesley's record to 16-11 with a 10-3 NEWMAC mark, while MIT falls to 5-17, 3-9 in conference play.

Wellesley jumped out to an early lead in game one, in an unusual first inning. After Sinta Cebrian (Seattle, WA) singled, she was called out for leaving early during an attempted steal. Ali Davis (Glen Ellyn, IL) followed with a triple to deep right, and scored subsequently on an illegal pitch to give Wellesley a 1-0 lead.

The Blue added two more in the third, when Davis reached on an MIT miscue and scored on Megan Wood's (Jacksonville, FL) double to right center. Alex Warren (Delta, BC) followed with a single to right, scoring Wood and extending the lead to 3-0.

MIT got one back in the top of the fourth. Keri Dixon (Bethlehem, PA) led off with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball. Jessica Iacobucci (Phoenixville, PA) then drilled a single up the middle, plating Dixon from second and cutting the Wellesley lead to 3-1.

The Blue answered with a four-run burst in the bottom of the inning. Megan Townsend (Saline, MI) reached on an error, and scored on Amanda Tai's (Melrose, MA) triple.  After Daniele's single knocked in Townsend, Davis his a double to right center to plate Daniele.  Later in the inning, Wellesley picked up an insurance run off of an RBI single from Ilana Orloff (Weston, MA) that made it 7-1 at the end of four.

MIT got one back in the top of the fifth inning when Jenny Li (Ellicott City, MD) hit a solo shot to right center field to lead off the frame.  However, Wellesley starter Barbarajean Grundlock (Blackwood, NJ) got six of the final nine MIT outs on strikeouts to close game one with a 7-2 victory for Wellesley.

Leading the way for the Blue were Davis who recorded a 3-3 game with three runs and an RBI, while Tai, Elora Daniele (Belle Mead, NJ) and Jessie Haladyna (St. Johns, FL) had two hits apiece.  Grundlock picked up the win for Wellesley, scattering seven hits, allowing two earned runs and picking up 13 strikeouts.

For MIT, Jessica Oleinik and Dixon each had two hits to pace the Engineer's offense.  Iacobucci recorded the loss, giving up seven earned runs off of 14 hits.

The Engineers started off strong in game two, scoring a pair in the top of the first inning.  Lily Keung (Boston, MA) opened the inning reaching on a Wellesley error, while Oleinik pounded a homerun to center field to put MIT up 2-0. 

Wellesley tied things up in the bottom of the frame after an RBI triple from Davis and a run scoring single from Wood made it 2-2.  Wellesley increased the lead to 7-2, adding two runs in the second and three in the third, including Haladyna's first career homerun.

MIT cut the Wellesley advantage to 7-3 in the fifth, after Keung took advantage of a three-base error and scored on a passed ball.  However, the Blue put things out of reach with a four-run fifth inning that was highlighted by a two-run homerun from Wood and a two-run triple from Orloff.

Wood went 3-3 for the Blue in game two, with four RBI and two runs scored.  Townsend and Orloff each picked up two RBI in the contest while Davis, Shawna McCreadie (Des Plaines, IL) and Haladyna added two hits each. Grundlock picked up her second win of the afternoon, throwing four innings, allowing two runs, four hits and striking out six.  Sarah Sherburne (Mill Valley, CA) pitched an inning in relief, allowing no hits and an unearned run.

MIT was limited to four hits in the contest, none coming after the second inning. In the circle, Abby Van Hook (Framingham, MA) suffered the loss, allowing six earned runs on seven hits.

MIT takes the field again on Friday, April 17, at 3:30, when the Engineers will host league-leading Coast Guard.  The Blue return to action at 3:30 on Friday as well, when they host Lesley University in a non-conference doubleheader.