Babson Park, MA --- Alicia Salvalzo (Hudson, NH) hit a walk-off single scoring Alex Sheehan (Marion, MA) as the WPI softball team captured the 2022 NEWMAC Championship with a dramatic 4-3 win over MIT at Babson. The seconded seeded Engineers (30-14) earned the conference's automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Tournament, while #3 MIT (30-16) will await a possible at-large bid. 

WPI's Katie Martin (Bedford, NH) was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, as the Engineers captured their first conference title since 2019. Martin was the winning pitcher in all three of the Engineers' victories in the tournament, pitching all 28 innings, posting a 0.75 ERA and striking out 11. She also earned the honor in 2019 after securing three wins on the final day of the championship. 

The Engineers' three NEWMAC Tournament titles (2016, 2019, 2022) have all come in the "if necessary" game versus MIT. The 2016 tournament was also a walk-off WPI win. The Engineers also own a conference title from 1991, taking the NEW8 Championship game against Brandeis. 

Salvalzo's base knock capped a back-and-forth game that saw WPI tie the game twice before finally breaking through with the walk-off run in the bottom of the seventh. Sheehan led off the inning with an infield single, taking second on a passed ball to set up Salvalzo's heroics. 

MIT jumped out to a 2-0 advantage with solo runs in the first and third innings. In the first, Kennedy Adkison (San Jose, CA) led off with a single and later scored on a Mackenzie Bivin (San Diego, CA) sac fly. In the third, the Engineers executed a double-steal with Anya Chase (Wells, ME) crossing home plate for a two-run advantage. 

WPI tied the game in the bottom of the fifth, scoring two runs on three hits. Kallie Case (Arlington, VA) started the rally with a one-out double before Stephanie Bishop (Milford, NH) was hit by a pitch with two outs. Sydney Russell (Arlington, VA) then singled to right-center to make it 2-1 before an infield single from Sheehan tied the game. The Engineers has runners on second and third before relief pitcher Becca O'Connor (San Antonio, TX) came in and got a strikeout to end the inning. 

MIT responded with a run in the top of the sixth to go up 3-2. Mikayla Cable (Valrico, FL) singled to start the inning and was sent to second on a ground out. Jordan Sell (Schwenksville, PA) then drove in the go-ahead run with a single down the right-field line before a ground out ended the frame. 

Again, WPI tied the game. A Shaina Lazarus (Thousand Oaks, CA) single started the bottom of the sixth before a fielding error put two on. Jocelyn Diaz (Reedley, CA) then singled through the right side, scoring Lazarus to tie the game. WPI loaded the bases with two out, but MIT got out of the inning to preserve the tie. 

In the top of the seventh, O'Connor reached on a WPI throwing error, advancing all the way to third on a Bivin single with two outs. However, MIT's runner was called out for leaving early to end their half of the inning and set up WPI's walk-off win. 

Martin got the victory to move to 20-5 on the season, the fifth time in program history a WPI pitcher has reached the 20-win mark. She threw a complete game allowing two earned runs on eight hits with three strikeouts. 

For MIT, Chase got the start, throwing 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with three strikeouts. O'Connor took the loss, going an inning and a third, allowing two unearned runs on four hits with three K's. 

The 2022 NCAA Division III softball championship selections are set for Monday, May 9. The selection show will air at 1 p.m. live on NCAA.com.