Softball Tops Clark in Doubleheader Action

WORCESTER, Mass. – The MIT softball team extended its winning streak to 11 as the Engineers swept Clark in a NEWMAC doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at O'Brien Field.

THE BASICS:

• Scores:

• Game 1: MIT 4, Clark 1

• Game 2: MIT 6, Clark 0

• Records: MIT (23-3 Overall, 9-1 NEWMAC); Clark (11-12, 1-7 NEWMAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED GAME ONE:

• Delaney Benevides singled to left with one out and then stole both second and third with Ava Ladd at the plate. Ladd then hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Benevides and give MIT a 1-0 lead.

• Three straight singles to open the fourth from Arianna Kumar, Lauren Sundquist, and Holland Poe loaded the bases for Julia Mattiace who hit a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0 MIT. The Cougars got the final two outs to keep it a two-run game.

• Emelie Spence and Avery Dillon singled in the bottom of the sixth for Clark, but Emily Watson got the third out to keep the Cougars off the board.

• Maggie Feng worked a leadoff walk and stole second and advanced to third on a groundout by Benevides. She then came around to score on an RBI from Ladd for the fourth run of the day.

• Clark got their first two batters on in the bottom of the seventh and Jennifer Albano scored the lone Clark run on a flyball to right. Watson got Karilyn Perez-Guerrero swinging to end the inning.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Watson improves to 8-0 with her fourth complete game. She allowed just four hits with one walk and two strikeouts.

• Benevides and Kumar each had two hits for the Engineers. Ladd and Mattiace each had two RBI for MIT.

HOW IT HAPPENED GAME TWO:

• Ladd took a 3-1 pitch over the left-center field wall to give MIT a 2-0 lead after one.

• Olivia Scarpaci hit a two-out double in the second and scored on a Feng single that made it 3-0.

• Scarpaci hit her second double of the day and Feng reached on a fielding error to set up Layla Thiessen who singled home both runners to make it 5-0 MIT in the sixth.

• MIT tacked on another run in the seventh on Clark errors and Sharona Huang got the Cougars in order in the seventh for the 6-0 win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Huang tossed her fourth complete game to move to 6-1. She allowed just four hits with no walks and five strikeouts.

• Ladd hit their second homer of the year, finishing 1-4 with two RBI. Scarpaci finished 2-4.

• Benevides led the way for MIT, going 3-4 with three stolen bases.

UP NEXT:

• MIT returns to the field on Friday, April 17 when the Engineers will play Wellesley in a doubleheader at the BU Softball Field beginning at 3:00 PM. Prior to first pitch, MIT will honor its senior class of Scarpaci and Ladd.

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