Fredericksburg, VA --- The WPI softball team dropped a pair of one-run ball games in the 2024 season opening doubleheader against Mary Washington on Tuesday afternoon.
The Engineers (0-2) fell in game one 7-6 and dropped a nail biter in game two 1-0 to the Eagles (3-1).
Emma Nagy (Monroe, WA) got the start in game one and helped out her own cause with a 3-for-4 outing at the plate driving in three runs and scoring another on her own.
Sydney Russell (Arlington, VA) and
Kate Gagne (Portsmouth, VA) each finished with a pair of hits.
In game two,
Kaitlyn Barr (Grosse Point Woods, MI) got the start on the mound and held Mary Washington to seven hits and just the one run in her complete game effort. WPI eked out just three hits in the pitching heavy battle including another by Russell and Nagy.
Game One
WPI was the first to get on the board in the top of the second as Nagy drove in her first run of the game with a double to center, scoring
Destiny Lum (Kahalu'u, HI). Nagy came around to score on a wild pitch and
Alex Sheehan (Marion, MA), who singled to shortstop to get on base, scored on a Russell single to left center to make it a 3-0 game.
The Eagles evened the score in the bottom half of the inning but WPI added another two to the total in the third inning.
Virginia McKinney (Larchmont, NY) started the inning with a double to left field, moved up to third on an illegal pitch and came around to score on a double to right center from
Riley O'Brien (Wynantskill, NY). The Engineers loaded the bases, and Nagy grounded out to the pitcher to bring home another run and make it a 5-3 game.
But in the bottom half of the third, Mary Washington took its first lead of the game putting a four spot on the board to pull ahead 7-5.
WPI would not go down without a fight getting runners on base the next three innings but were unable to get one across until the seventh when
Kelly Pritchard (Orange, CT) started things off with a single and
Ashley Amaro (Taunton, MA) stepped in to pinch run. Amaro moved up to second in the next at bat and came around to score on a single to left from Nagy. But the Engineers would come up one run shy.
Game Two
In the second game of the day, it was a pitching duel between Barr and
Caitlyn Burch (Mechanicsville, MD), both going the distance.
Barr and the Engineer defense shut down the Eagles through the first four innings before Mary Washington snuck a run onto the board with some small ball.
Hailee Danneker (Lincoln City, OR) started things off with a single through the left side and
Nya Lloyd (Middleburg, VA) stepped in to pinch run. Lloyd took second and moved up to third on a single to first from
Shelby Presgrave (Manassas, VA), coming around to score on an error by the WPI infield.
The one run was all that was needed in the ball game as both Barr and Burch picked up eight strikeouts apiece in the duel.
Next Up
WPI returns to action on Thursday, March 7 when the Engineers faceoff in another doubleheader against Randolph-Macon at 2pm. Mary Washington will return to the field at the Grand Clam Triangle Classic on Friday, March 8 when they take on Piedmont and Greensboro in Raleigh, NC.
