By Emma Bynes
@emma_bynes4
During their first home game in nearly two weeks, the Springfield College softball team routed WPI Friday afternoon in two games, 14-6 and 11-1. Despite just lasting ten innings combined, the games shared all sorts of excitement such as home-run robberies, walk offs and of course the two mercy-rule wins for Springfield.
The highlights in center field started from the very first pitch of the doubleheader, when a diving Marissa Seyfert made her first of many excellent plays this afternoon — laying out to prevent the Engineer’s leadoff hitter from reaching base. Pride starter Amelia DeRosa, compelled by her team’s defense, retired the next two hitters on less than 10 pitches.
At the plate, the Pride changed their approach to more contact focused hitting. DeRosa helped herself on the mound as well, lining a double to the left-center gap and scoring after Carissa Pecchia skied a sacrifice fly to right field.
“We are trying to adjust a little bit because of a slight lull in our bats the last few weeks, our mindset was to go up and attack the zone,” Pride head coach Sam Garcia said. “The team really bought into that today, and you can see the results on the scoreboard for that.”
Excited to be back at Potter Field, Springfield did not wait long to score again. Michaela Ponticello, who hit nearly .400 last season, lined a single and first-baseman Kate Katsetos doubled to put two runners in scoring position early. After a WPI pitching change, the Pride continued to rout the Engineers and sophomore Naomi Boldebuck, going up 8-2 after just two innings.
Katie Manzone launched another sacrifice fly to score fellow first-year Brynlee Eckels early in the bottom of the third inning. As the Pride dugout was celebrating this run and chanting “SC party don’t stop”, Lucy Puskas lined a ball far over the left-field fence for a three run shot, furthering Springfield’s advantage to 12-2.
WPI edged Springfield out of range of a run-rule victory in the top of the fifth, closing their deficit to just seven runs. However, with the home team showing no signs of slowing down their bats anytime soon, Callie Gendron looked to put the game away. After going down 0-2 and choking up on her bat, she demolished a ball into deep centerfield. It appeared as if the Pride were going to win on a walkoff shot, but Virginia McKinney extended her glove over the outfield fence to make the catch, followed by her celebrating the incredible robbery.
Her excitement was very short-lived when Manzone continued to run after Ponticello hit an infield single to the Engineer’s Sandy Fairbairn. In complete confusion as to why Manzone kept running, the shortstop had an extremely delayed reaction, allowing the first-year to score at the plate for the Pride’s first walkoff win of their season.
“I think we had a really solid day all-around at the plate, my walk-off was just trying to get the job done for my team and trying to get a win in five innings,” Ponticello said.
Lily Mcauliffe took the mound for Springfield in game two, and started off looking fantastic early. Her first of seven strikeouts came with the final out of the first inning, and her teammates greeted her with celebrations in the dugout. However, the Engineers took their first, only and very short-lived lead of the afternoon after junior Liz Jordan tripled past a shifted left Ponticello — scoring two runners. The umpires quickly ruled that Jordan was the third out of the inning because she stepped out of the batters’ box illegally, much to the dismay of WPI head coach Heather Ross. The score was returned to 0-0.
In the bottom of the second inning, Callie Gendron got her revenge on McKinney. Gendron absolutely tattooed what should have been her second home run ball on the day over the sophomore’s head, extending the Pride’s advantage from 3-0 to 6-0 early on. Another mercy victory was in sight for the home team.
With the afternoon light fading and freezing rain falling, Lily McCaullife was trying to get her team out of the elements as soon as possible. She took care of business despite a leadoff double carried by the wind from first-year Engineer Lucy Latour.
With one out in the home half of the third inning, Ponticello continued her superb afternoon by pulling off a risky steal of third base — sliding head first past the attempted tag. Walks and hit batters loaded the bases for DeRosa and she singled, but a throwing error by McKinney allowed another run to score on the play, putting Springfield up 8-0. More wild pitching allowed Gendron to continue her afternoon by scoring two more runners, bringing the graduate student up to five RBIs.
McCaullife continued her stellar evening, but the highlight of the fourth inning was easily a laser thrown by Puskas from the right-field corner all the way to third base, nailing Meg Sherwood on her attempted triple.
Mcauliffe could do nothing except rave about the defense behind her. “It’s the team defense. It is so easy to go up there and almost throw the ball right down the middle, knowing all these talented people are behind me,” the pitcher said.
The first-year McCaullife continued to dominate in the fifth, striking out Ava Laughlin on a checked swing call that Ross did not agree with. Totalling seven strikeouts, she also struck out the next batter, and Manzone cleaned up the game with a relaxed flip to Eckels at second base — closing out the dominant afternoon for the Pride.
The Pride play at home next on Sunday against MIT, after Saturday afternoon’s games against the second batch of Engineers were postponed due to weather.
Photo Courtesy of Springfield College Athletics