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Box Score 2 WELLESLEY, Mass. -- The Wellesley College softball team used strong pitching performances from sophomore Lindsay Johnson and junior Sarah Schwartzmeyer to post a sweep over two-time defending NEWMAC Champion, Coast Guard in league play on Friday afternoon. The Blue took game one, 3-2, in nine innings, and won the night-cap, 5-1.
The wins improve Wellesley to 13-13 overall, 6-4 in NEWMAC play. Coast Guard falls to 16-12, 4-6 in the NEWMAC.
Game one featured a pitchers dual between Wellesley's Johnson and Coast Guard's Feindel, who combined for 14 strikeouts and just one earned run.
Wellesley struck first, plating a run in the bottom of the second inning. Phoebe Walsh-Costello reached base on a Coast Guard error with two outs to start the rally. Abby Casey then reached on an infield single, but Coast Guard's defense was out of place and threw the ball around the infield, allowing Walsh-Costello to score to put Wellesley up, 1-0.
Coast Guard knotted things at 1-1 in the top of the fifth inning. Devin Fellman led off the inning with a single and was advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Maddie Buchert. A groundout put Fellman on third, before Holli Bastinck hit looping single off the glove of the Wellesley right fielder to score the tying run.
The Bears took a 2-1 edge in the first extra frame. Stacia Sarwinski was placed on second base and was sacrificed to third on a bunt from Kaitlin Ward. Sarwinski then scored on a Wellesley error, putting Coast Guard ahead, 2-1.
Wellesley knotted things at 2-2 in the bottom of the inning. Pinch runner Schwartzmeyer reached third on a sac from Maria LaBouyer. Mara Blesoff then drove in the tying run on a single to left field. Wellesley loaded the bases with one out after a Jayne Ellis single and a fielder's choice from Kimberly Cabral. However, Coast Guard's Feindel struck out the innings' final two batters to force a ninth inning.
In Coast Guard's half of the ninth inning, Erin Lisko advanced to third on a sacrifice from Fellman, but was thrown out at the plate on a grounder to the short stop. Wellesley's Johnson then induced a groundout, setting up the ninth-inning heroics for the Blue.
Wellesley earned the victory in the bottom of the ninth, after Emilyrose Havrilla was sacrified to third by Walsh-Costello. Casey then drilled a ball into right field that was deep enough for Havrilla to tag up and score the game-winner.
For Wellesley, Casey and Ellis each finished with two hits, while Casey and Blesoff each drove in runs for the Blue. Johnson was brilliant in the circle for the Blue, throwing nine innings, allowing only one earned run on five hits with seven strikeouts and five walks.
Coast Guard's Bastinck recorded the only multi-hit outing for the Bears in game one. In the circle, Feindel pitched well, despite the loss, throwing eight and two-thirds of an inning, not allowing an earned run. She allowed six hits, while striking out seven and walking two.
In game two, Wellesley scored five runs in the first two innings, and Schwartzmeyer took care of the rest, throwing seven innings, allowing just one run while striking out eight and walking one.
Wellesley pounded out seven hits between the two frames, striking for five runs. Singles from
Lauren Goldfarb, LaBouyer, Cabral and Havrilla in the bottom of the first put the Blue up, 2-0, before Coast Guard got one back in the top of the second. Sarwinski led off the inning with a blast over the left field fence, cutting the lead to 2-1.
Wellesley forged on, scoring three in the bottom of the second to take the 5-2 lead. The big hit of the inning came on a triple from LaBouyer that drove in Schwartzmeyer and Goldfarb, who both reached on singles. A fielder's choice off the bat of Ellis scored LaBouyer for to account for the third Blue run of the frame.
With the 5-1 advantage, Schwartzmeyer closed things out, not allowing a runner past second the rest of the way.
Goldfarb finished with two hits for the Blue, while LaBouyer drove in two runs. Bastinck's homerun was the only extra base hit for the Bears, who totaled just four hits in the game.
Both teams continue NEWMAC play tomorrow at noon with doubleheaders. Wellesley travels to Clark, while Coast Guard will host MIT.
