CLERMONT, Fla. – Wellesley College softball opened the season with a pair of games with Macalester College and Plymouth State University at Legends Way Ballfields on Monday. The Blue (0-2) fell 5-2 to Macalester and 11-10 to Plymouth State.
Game 1 | Macalester 5, Wellesley 2 | Final
After a scoreless first, Wellesley plated a pair in the bottom of the second. Senior Charis Chung (San Gabriel, Calif.) came around to score on a sac fly by sophomore Alena Mulhern (Kingston, Mass.). Junior Andrea Delgado (Miami, Fla.) then singled home sophomore Giana Jones (Fairfield, Calif.) for the 2-0 lead.
Macalester (6-3) broke through in the top of the sixth with five runs. Sophomore Elizabeth Welch (Carol Stream, Ill.) knocked in a run with a single to center. Sophomores Tess Bojorquez (San Clemente, Calif.) and Alli Johnson (Waukee, Iowa) each added two-run singles in the frame.
Sophomore Rileigh Morlock (Lincoln, Ill.) earned the complete game victory to improve to 3-0 on the season for Macalester. Morlock allowed two runs on six hits and struck out four.
Sophomore Sarah Wicker (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) started the game and threw four scoreless innings with five strikeouts for the Blue. Sophomore Jill Colgan (Las Vegas, Nev.) took the loss with four earned runs in an inning of relief. First-year Bella Hassett (North Granby, Conn.) debuted with two scoreless innings and three strikeouts.
Bojorquez finished with three hits and two RBIs for the Scots. Welch and senior Renee Nicholson (Downers Grove, Ill.) added two hits apiece.
Delgado registered a pair of hits and a steal to lead the Wellesley (0-1) hitters.
Game 2 | Plymouth State 11, Wellesley 10 | Final
Wellesley's offense erupted for six runs in the first. First-year Ruijia Yang (Berwyn, Pa.) recorded a first collegiate hit with an RBI double. Sophomore Emily Kulhanek (Newbury, Calif.) then knocked in a pair with a single to the gap. Kulhanek came around on a single by Jones. The Blue tacked on two other runs on errors.
Plymouth State (5-1) answered with a run in its first at-bat, but the Blue got the run back in the top of the second on when Yang scored on a wild pitch.
The Panthers pulled within 7-5 with four runs in their half of the second on a pair of RBI singles from senior Kaity Montelong (South Paris, Maine) and sophomore Avery Couch (Fort Worth, Texas) sandwiched around a two-run error.
Each team scored a run in the third to make the score 8-6 heading to the fourth.
Wellesley pushed its lead to three when sophomore Anisa Rodriguez (La Quinta, Calif.) singled in Jones.
Plymouth State received RBIs from junior Abbey Nezuch (Marlborough, Mass) and senior Jade Guertin (Oakland, R.I.) in the sixth to cut the deficit to 9-8.
In the top of the seventh, Wellesley doubled its advantage when first-year Brynne Mellady (Ellicott City, Md.) knocked in Mulhern with a second hit in the collegiate debut.
Trailing by two in the seventh, Plymouth State rallied with three runs to earn the 11-10 walk-off win. After senior Mia Ly (Lowell, Mass.) doubled in a run to make the score 10-9, first-year Marin Agbay (Shrewsbury, Mass.) tied the game with an RBI double that scored Couch. Ly later came around with the game-winner on an RBI single by senior Carolin Marci (Burlington, Mass.).
Yang and Jones each went 3-for-4 for Wellesley. Mellady and Rodriguez finished with two hits apiece. First-year Natalie Nicol (Latexo, Texas) also recorded a hit in a debut appearance.
Marci led the Panthers with three hits, while Ly, Couch, Guertin and sophomore Kiera Larson (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) each had two hits.
The Blue are back in action tomorrow morning at Legends Way Ballfields. The team faces Amherst College at 9:00 AM and SUNY New Paltz at 11:15 AM.
