Athletics News and Press Releases

April 20, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jen Steele
(413) 585-3076

Softball Sweeps WPI

Northampton, MA: The junior duo of Kate Schoenen (Ellicott City, MD) and Taryn Pestalozzi (Troutdale, OR) hit back-to-back singles in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Pioneers a 3-2 victory over the third-seeded Engineers. The Pioneers rolled into game two, exploding with fourteen hits to take the second game 14-0. With the sweep, Smith improves to 15-15 overall and 8-6 in the NEWMAC competition.

The Pioneers got on the board quickly in the bottom of the first after seniors Chloe Pete (Beaverton, OR) and Debbie Sasges (Vancouver, BC) hit consecutive singles. The Engineers wouldn’t respond until the top of the sixth when Briana Dougherty (Woburn, MA) reached on an error and scored off Sara Migdal’s (Hagaman, NY) timely single. The Pioneers were unable to push a run across the plate for the next two innings, leaving the score knotted at 1-1.

Going into extra innings with the international tie-breaker rule in effect, the Engineers struck in the top of the ninth for one run. The one-run deficit was all the Pioneers needed for motivation, as they scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth off Schoenen and Pestalozzi’s back-to-back hits.

Sophomore pitcher Emily Hiltzik (Westbury, NY) picked up the win, giving up just three hits and striking out five in nine innings of work. WPI’s Megan Kelly (Burlington, MA) took the loss on the mound, giving up eight hits and striking out six.

Coming off the pull-from-behind victory in the first game, the Pioneers wasted no time putting the second game away, scoring four runs in the first, five runs in the third, and 5 runs in the fourth. First year Megan Kiefer (Oak Park, IL), Sasges, sophomore Crystal Fryer (Louisville, KY), and sophomore Erin Quinn (Northbrook, IL) were all 2-3. The highlight of the game came from first year pinch hitter Mikal Minarich (Hobart, IN) wo hit her first collegiate homerun, a grand slam, in the bottom of the fourth.

Junior Dezarai Fisher (Phoenix, AZ) picked up the win for Smith, giving up just two hits and striking out four in five innings of work.

The Pioneers are back in action again tomorrow as they travel to Coast Guard for a doubleheader scheduled to begin at noon.

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