For Immediate Release
April 27, 2008
Wellesley Sports Information
Springfield Forces Decisive Game in NEWMAC Championship
WELLELSEY, Mass. -- Down 1-0 with only five outs remaining, Springfield College (28-15) rallied to beat #1-seed Wellesley College, 2-1, in the New England Men's and Women's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) title game, forcing a deciding game to be played at Wellesley College this afternoon at 2:30.
The title game featured two of the conference's top pitchers, Wellesley's Jenna Harvey (London, Ont.) and Springfield's Samantha Rhodes (Mendon, Mass.), and both performed well in the opening innings. Through four innings, Harvey the conference leader in strikeouts and ERA, had allowed three hits and no runs. Rhodes, the conference leader in wins (20-5), was equally effective, allowing four hits and no runs.
In the top of the fifth, Harvey put herself in a jam by walking three consecutive Springfield batters to load the bases, but she got out ofthe inning by tallying her third strikeout of the game. Her teammates responded in the bottom of the inning, when back-to-back doubles from Alison Davis (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) and Ilana Orloff (Weston, Mass.) gave Wellesley a 1-0 lead.
In the top of sixth, Michelle Wlosek (Nutley,N.J.) singled with two outs, then came around to score on a single from Danielle Spiro (South Windsor, Conn.), with help from a Wellesley miscue, to tie the score at 1-1.
In the seventh, Springfield used two walks and a Wellesley error to load the bases with one out. Harvey fanned the next batter, but walked Jessica Hillman, giving Springfield the go-ahead run. Kara Wong (Milford, Mass.) then picked off Shanda Kogut (Preston, Conn.) at third to end the rally. But Rhodes retired the side in the bottom of the inning to force a deciding game.
Rhodes allowed six hits and one run to earn the win. Spiro tallied two hits for the Pride, while Wlosek, Angela Atkins (East Haddam, Conn.), and Jessica Hillman (Seymour, Conn.) added one each. Harvey gave up five hits and two runs, neither earned, while walking six and fanning seven. Orloff was three-for-three, with an RBI. Megan Sullivan (Markham, Ont.) added two hits for the Blue.
Complete tournament information can be found at: http://www.wellesley.edu/athletics/athletics/softball/newmac/index.html