Engineers sweep Seahawks on Rooftop Field

WORCESTER, Mass. (Saturday, April 20, 2024) -- The WPI softball team swept its third-straight doubleheader with a twinbill win over visiting Salve Regina University at Rooftop Field on Saturday. The Engineers took game one 14-0 in five innings and then won a tight game two, 3-2.

The victories lift WPI to 15-12-1 overall and 8-4 in conference play, as the team holds on to a top-three NEWMAC standing. The Seahawks meanwhile slip to 12-18 overall and 5-9 in conference play.

Sandy Fairbairn (Norton, MA) led the Engineers with five RBI in game one, while in game two, Sydney Russell (Arlington, VA) drove in two of the three WPI runs. Naomi Boldebuck (Billerica, MA) got the game one win and then picked up a save in game two for the Engineers.

Game One

WPI pounded out 14 hits in game one, including a 10-run third inning to take the opener 14-0 in five innings.

Fairbairn led the Crimson and Gray with two hits, two runs scored, and five RBI, while blasting her first home run of her career. Meg Sherwood (Norfolk, MA) notched two hits with three RBI, including a home run, while Kallie Case (Phoenix, AZ) and Destiny Lum (Kahaluʻu, HI) each added two RBI, with Lum also homering.

Boldebuck pitched the first three innings, giving up just two hits while striking out two. Kaitlyn Barr (Grosse Pointe Woods, MI) came on in relief, throwing two scoreless innings with one strikeout.

For Salve Regina, Sam Franceschi (East Haven CT) collected two hits, while Caroline Peterson (Halifax, MA) suffered the loss, going four innings, allowing seven earned runs on 10 hits.

The Engineers opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning, as Fairbairn singled in two runs with a base knock through the left side. In the second, Lum launched her home run to left center and a sacrifice bunt from Alex Sheehan (Marion, MA) sent a second run home to make it 4-0 after two.

WPI's big inning came in the bottom of the third, as they combined for 10 runs on eight hits. Case pushed the score to 6-0 with a single down the left field line, while a Lum single made it 7-0. Three batters later, a three-run home run from Sherwood pushed it to 10-0. Virginia McKinney (Larchmont, NY) got an RBI on an infield single before Fairbairn belted a three-run shot to left to make it a 14-0 game.

After a scoreless fourth inning, Barr pitched around singles from Katie Ramos (Burnt Hills, NY) and Franceschi to close out the shortened win for WPI.

Game Two

A three-run bottom of the fifth inning and a save from Boldebuck wrapped up the sweep for WPI, as the hosts picked up a 3-2 win in the nightcap.

Russell drove in two runs to lead the WPI offense, while Emma Nagy (Monroe, WA) and Lum added extra-base hits in the win. Shaina Lazarus (Thousand Oaks, CA) picked up the win, throwing six innings, allowing two runs on five hits with five strikeouts, while Boldebuck worked a scoreless seventh, allowing one hit to grab the save.

For Salve Regina, Franceschi led the team with two hits, while Emily Cronin (Coventry, RI) and Emma Plourde (Stratham, NH) each drove in runs. Alex Kelly (East Meadow, NY) suffered the loss, throwing six innings, allowing three runs on six hits with three strikeouts.

The Seahawks went up 1-0 in the top of the first, manufacturing a run with small ball. Morganti Bello (Corte Madera, Calif.) led off with a walk, while a bunt single from Franceschi just two on with no outs. After a flyout, another bunt single, this time from Emily Lane (Tinton Falls, NJ), loaded the bases. A long foul out from Cronin then scored Bello before a strikeout ended the frame.

After four scoreless middle innings, WPI struck for three in the bottom of the fifth. With one out, Lum started the rally with a double but Kelly got the next batter by strikeout. With two outs, an infield single from Sheehan put two on for Russell who laced a double to left center to give the Engineers their first lead of the game at 2-1. McKinney then added an insurance run with an RBI single to right, before a groundout ended the inning with WPI up 3-1.

Salve Regina cut into the deficit in the top of the sixth. A one-out walk from Lane and a single from Cronin put two on. A wild pitch advanced both runners, setting up a Plourde sacrifice that sliced the deficit to 3-2, before a fly out ended the inning.

WPI came up scoreless in the bottom of the sixth and Boldebuck worked around a walk and single from the Seahawks in the top of the seventh to seal the sweep.

WPI is back in action on Wednesday, playing a doubleheader at Amherst at 3 p.m. Salve Regina will play two at Roger Williams on Wednesday, beginning at 3 p.m.