Softball Swept by WPI

WORCESTER, Mass. -- The WPI softball team swept a non-conference doubleheader with a pair of mercy-rule victories over Bridgewater State University on Tuesday afternoon at Rooftop Field. The Engineers won the opener in five innings, 15-2, and completed the sweep with an 8-0 walk-off triumph in six innings in game two.

The Engineers improve to 14-14 on the season as they extend their winning streak to five games. The Bears fall to 7-24-1 with the pair of setbacks.

Game One: WPI 15, Bridgewater State 2 (5 Inn.)

The Engineers banged out 12 hits and capitalized on nine walks to post the 15-2 win in game one.

Emma Nagy (Monroe, Wash.) went the distance in the circle for WPI to earn her fifth win of the season. Nagy (5-5) allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits with a walk and five strikeouts. Nagy also helped her own cause at the plate as she went 2-for-2 with a home run, two runs and two RBI.

Four different players finished with multiple hits for the Engineers including Nagy. Lindsay Ambrosino (Chelmsford, MA) went 2-for-2 with a double, a pair of walks, two runs and three RBI. Destiny Lum (Kahaluʻu, Hawaii) was also 2-for-2 with a double, two walks, two runs and three RBI, while Kallie Case (Phoenix, Ariz.) went 2-for-3 with a double, a run and two RBI.

Bridgewater State grabbed the early lead with a run in the top of the first inning on an RBI single by Madison Dana (Lynn, Mass.). That lead was short-lived, however, as the Engineers responded with four runs in the home half of the first highlighted by a pair of RBI doubles by Case and Kelly Pritchard (Orange, Conn.).

BSU cut the deficit to 4-2 in the second on a Victoria Becker (Abington, Mass.) sacrifice fly. WPI responded with four runs in the bottom of the third to extend the lead to 8-2. Liz Jordan (Yardley, Pa.) rapped an RBI single in the frame while Ambrosino connected for a two-run double.

The Engineers put the game well out of reach with a seven-run fourth inning. Nagy homered to lead off the inning, while Sydney Russell (Arlington, Va.) and Ambrosino were both issued bases loaded walks. Lum smacked a bases clearing three-run double and Mia Francisco (Hudson, NH)  rounded out the scoring with an RBI double.

Dana and Janet Jolly (Raynham, Mass.) recorded the Bears' lone two hits in game one.

Game Two: WPI 8, Bridgewater State 0 (6 Inn.)

Pritchard tossed a complete game, three-hit shutout to lead the Engineers to the 8-0 win in six innings in game two and a sweep of the twinbill. Pritchard (3-0) did not issue a walk and fanned two.

Nagy homered again to get the scoring started in the bottom of the second inning. Ava Laughlin (Chester Springs, PA) followed with a walk, stole second, moved to third on a ground out and scored on another ground out to make it a 2-0 game.

Back-to-back RBI doubles from Lum and Nagy extended the Engineers' lead to 4-0 in the third. WPI tacked on a pair of runs in the fourth on a Russell two-run single and won the game in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the sixth on an Ambrosino two-run triple.

Russell (2-3, BB, R, 2RBI), Ambrosino (2-4, 2B, 3B, SB, R, 2RBI) and Nagy (2-3, 2B, R, 2RBI) tallied two hits apiece to pace the WPI offense in game two. The Engineers recorded nine hits and four walks in the nightcap.

Madelyn Klingel (Windsor, Conn.), Riley Fitzgerald (Swansea, Mass.) and Emily Eastman (Cranston, R.I.) notched a hit apiece for Bridgewater State in game two.

BSU pitching gave up 23 runs (22 earned) on 21 hits and 13 walks in the two games (9.1 innings). The Bears struggled offensively as well going 5-for-37 at the plate.

Up Next: The Bears host a MASCAC twinbill with Fitchburg State University on Saturday afternoon at 12:30. The Engineers entertain Smith College in a NEWMAC doubleheader on Friday at 3:30.