New London, CT --- With a Monday afternoon sweep of Coast Guard the WPI softball team clinched at least a spot in the NEWMAC Tournament play-in game and stay on track for a potential top two seed headed into the final weekend of conference action. 
 
The Engineers (22-11, 11-5 NEWMAC) took down Coast Guard (12-15-1, 6-10) by a 10-4 score in game one, wrapping up the day with a 6-2 game two victory in a pair of games that were moved from both Saturday and Sunday due to weather. Game one marked WPI's ninth, 10-run game of the season. The nine such games are the most since WPI had 13 during the 2017 season. 
 
The victories were the 99th and 100th at WPI for head coach Heather Ross, who along with assistant Dylan Foran, arrived on Boynton Hill in 2021-22.
 
Naomi Boldebuck (Billerica, MA) earned yet another win, marking her 14th of the season with a seven inning affair where she allowed nine hits, four runs, none of which were earned, and a trio of strikeouts. In game two, Sofia Knopf (Plymouth, MA) picked up her fifth win of the year pitching all seven innings of action, allowing six hits and a pair of runs while striking out six. 
 
Sandy Fairbairn (Norton, MA) paced game one of action with a 2-for-3 day, driving in a pair of runs and scoring another two of her own. Fairbairn also finished with three stolen bases, her fourth multi-stolen base game of the year. Meg Sherwood (Norfolk, MA) and Riley O'Brien (Wynantskill, NY) each had a pair of hits in game two with O'Brien netting a run and Sherwood crossing the plate twice in the victory. 
 
GAME ONE
The Engineers got the action going quickly in the first inning putting three runs on the board. McKinney started things off with a single to left, stole second, and came around to score as Destiny Lum (Kahalu'u, HI) reached on an error. Next up, O'Brien sent a double to left that brought home Lum, and after O'Brien moved to third on the throw, she touched the plate for the 3-0 advantage on a groundout from Fairbairn. 
 
In the second inning, WPI added a couple more to the total. Ariana Kreuzer (Walpole, MA) started things off by reaching on an error, moving around the basepaths behind some small ball, and after Lucy Latour (North Dighton, MA) walked and took second, McKinney drove the pair home with a single to right field for the 5-0 advantage. 
 
Coast Guard was able to get a trio of runs back in the bottom half of the frame, but WPI answered back in the top of the third with three runs of its own. O'Brien kicked things off reaching via an error and came home on a double to left center by Fairbairn. Fairbairn took third and came home on another Coast Guard error. After a Sherwood double, Liz Jordan (Yardley, PA) scored and WPI gained an 8-3 advantage. 
 
Fairbairn single handedly added another run to the board in the fifth. She reached on a single, moved to second on a wild pitch, stole third and then scored after an error by the Coast Guard catcher. While in the seventh, WPI added an insurance run when Emma Nagy (Monroe, WA) sent a sacrifice fly to centerfield that drove in Colleen Mayer (Hillsborough, NJ) and give WPI a 10-3 advantage. 
 
Coast Guard was able to get one back in the bottom of the seventh but it was not enough as WPI held on for the win.
 
GAME TWO
WPI kept the first inning scoring going in game two putting a pair of runs on the board. Latour started things off with an infield single, stealing second and advancing to third on a McKinney ground out. A Lum ground out brought Latour home. After O'Brien reached on a single, she came around to score thanks to a Nagy single to right center for the 2-0 lead. 
 
Coast Guard put up a run in bottom half of the first and evened up the score in the second inning. But that was all the runs that Knopf would allow for the rest of the game. 
 
In the fifth, WPI broke the tie as Sherwood beat out an infield single to start things off, moved all the way to third after an error and scored on an infield ground out. 
 
In the sixth, the Engineers really broke things open after a pair of Coast Guard errors. Nagy walked, moved up to second and came around following an infield error. Mia Francisco (Hudson, NH), who reached on the error, moved to third on a Sherwood single and touched home plate behind another Bear miscue for the 6-2 lead and ultimate victory. 
 
Coast Guard finished with 10 errors during the doubleheader. 
 
UP NEXT 
WPI returns to the diamond with its final non-conference game at Hartford, tomorrow (Tuesday), April 29 at 4 pm while Coast Guard will host a doubleheader against Wesleyan (CT), also on Tuesday, beginning at 3pm.