Norton, MA --- #3 MIT scored five unanswered runs in a 6-2 victory over #6 WPI in the opening round of the double elimination NEWMAC Softball Tournament on Tuesday afternoon at Wheaton. The Cambridge Engineers (25-12) advance in the winner's bracket to play #2 Wheaton at 4:30pm. WPI (21-18-1) will play #5 Smith on Friday at 10am at Springfield.
 
MIT's Caroline Langmeyer (Upper Arlington, OH) improved to 16-4 with the victory. She went all seven innings, allowing two runs on four hits with five walks and nine strikeouts. Kaitlyn Barr (Grosse Pointe Woods, MI) (5-4) suffered the loss for WPI, throwing 2.1 innings, and allowing four runs on eight hits. Shaina Lazarus (Thousand Oaks, CA) threw 3.2 innings in relief, allowing two runs (none earned) on two hits.
 
WPI's Riley O'Brien (Wynantskill, NY) drove in the only two runs for the Crimson and Gray, while Virginia McKinney (Larchmont, NY) collected a pair of hits in the loss. Emma Nagy (Monroe, WA) added a hit, while Sydney Russell (Arlington, VA) worked two walks.
 
MIT's offense saw both Kennedy Adkison (San Jose, CA) and Arianna Kumar (San Diego, CA) drive in two runs. Nicole Johnston (St. Charles, IL) recorded three hits, while Olivia Scarpaci (Staten Island, NY) drove in a run.
 
MIT struck first in the bottom of the first inning. Johnston and Mackenzie Bivin (San Diego, CA) each collected infield singles, setting up Adkison who singled in Johnston for the first run of the game.
 
WPI answered with two in the top of the third to take a 2-1 lead. Russell led off with a walk before O'Briend launched a two-run shot to left field, her eighth of the season.
 
MIT answered in the bottom of the frame, regaining the advantage with three runs. Singles from Mikayla Cable (Valrico, FL) and Johnston started the inning, before Kumar drove in the tying run on another base hit. Atkinson followed with an RBI single of her own before Scarpaci doubled to bring in the third run of the inning to make it 4-2.
 
MIT pushed two more across in the bottom of the fourth inning, pushing it to 6-2. An error and a Cable single set up a sac fly from Kumar, before Cable stole home to put the Cambridge squad up four.
 
WPI loaded the bases in the top of the sixth with two outs, as a McKinney single, an error, and a walk put the tying run at the plate. However, a strikeout ended the threat for MIT.
 
In the top of the seventh, Langmeyer got the first two batters of the frame on a strike out and foul out, and then worked around an error to force a ground-out to end the game.