WORCESTER, Mass. – Wellesley College softball rallies in game two to earn a NEWMAC split at WPI on Tuesday at Rooftop Field. WPI edged out a 2-1 victory in game one, while the Blue erased a 3-0 deficit to earn a 7-4 comeback win in eight innings in the nightcap.
Wellesley pushes its overall record to 11-10-1 and conference record to 6-4. WPI goes to 12-10 overall and 3-5 in the NEWMAC.
Game 1 | WPI 2, Wellesley 1 | Final
Sophomore Naomi Boldebuck (Billerica, Mass.) earned a two-hit complete game win for the hosts to win a low-scoring pitcher's duel. Boldebuck was sharp, allowing only a single walk in addition to the hits.
Wellesley sophomore
Sarah Wicker (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) threw a complete game for the Blue. Wicker punched out three in six innings of work while allowing two runs and seven baserunners.
The Blue jumped out to an early lead with a run in the top of the second. After placing runners on second and third, junior
Emeline Gaunce (Los Altos, Calif.) hit a sacrifice fly to center field that brought home first year
Brynne Mellady (Ellicott City, Md.).
Junior Emma Nagy (Monroe, Wash.) immediately erased the Blue lead with a solo shot to left field for the hosts in the bottom of the second.
The Engineers broke the 1-1 stalemate in the bottom half of the sixth. Junior Destiny Lum (Kahalu'u, Hawaii) doubled to right center and came home on an RBI double to left field from sophomore Riley O'Brien (Wynantskill, N.Y.).
Boldebuck retired the Blue in order to finish off the win for WPI.
Game 2 | Wellesley 7, WPI 4 | Final - 8 Innings
Lum gave the Engineers a 2-0 lead in the first inning, bringing in two runs with a two-bagger to left center. Lum advanced to third on a single from O'Brien. Lum scored on a single by first year Ariana Kreuzer (Walpole, Mass.) but the Blue threw O'Brien out at the plate to limit the damage to three runs.
Boldebuck had a perfect game going through 4.2 innings before sophomore
Anisa Rodriguez (La Quinta, Calif.) broke it up with an infield single. The Blue went on to load the bases in the top of the fifth but were unable to bring home any runs.
Wellesley's offense surged forward, with the team taking a 4-3 lead in the top of the sixth. After sophomore
Alena Mulhern (Kingston, Mass.) singled through the left side, Wicker drove in a run with a hard double to left. Gaunce then singled and moved pinch-runner
Giana Jones (Fairfield, Calif.) to third. After sophomore
Emily Kulhanek (Newbury, Calif.) walked the bases loaded, a wild pitch brought in Jones, making it 3-2. Rodriguez then drove in a pair with a single past the shortstop's outstretched glove.
WPI quickly answered with the tying run in the bottom half of the frame. After Lum led off with a walk, O'Brien doubled down the left field line to bring in the equalizer.
After a scoreless seventh, the Blue plated three runs in the eighth for the 7-4 advantage. Gaunce knocked in a pair with a single up the middle. Kulhanek came around with Wellesley's seventh run on a single by first-year
Ruijia Yang (Berwyn, Pa.).
Sophomore
Jill Colgan (Las Vegas, Nev.) started for the Blue and pitched the first inning, before being relieved by senior
Lauren Young (Fresno, Calif.). Young went the rest of the way tossing seven innings with one run allowed on three hits and four strikeouts to earn the win.
Boldebuck hurled 5.1 innings of three-run ball with five hits allowed and a trio of Ks.
Up next, the Blue will host Babson College in a 3 & 5 PM doubleheader on Friday, April 18. The Engineers remain home against non-conference Simmons University at 4:30 PM on Wednesday, April 16.
