WORCESTER --
Emma Nagy (Monroe, WA) drove in five runs, including four in the nightcap, and
Abby Merchant (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) tossed a complete-game victory in Game 2 as WPI split a non-conference doubleheader with Eastern Connecticut on Thursday on Rooftop Field. The Warriors claimed the opener 5-2 before the Engineers responded with a 7-1 victory in the nightcap.
The Engineers, who are now 26-2 overall, entered the day ranked fifth in the first NCAA Division III NPI rankings of the spring and 15th in the latest NFCA/GoRout Division III Top 25 poll. Eastern is now 15-11 on the season.
Nagy paced WPI across the two games, going 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, five RBI and two runs scored.
Lucy Latour (North Dighton, MA) reached base five times, going 1-for-4 with four walks, two runs scored and a stolen base while
Sandy Fairbairn (Norton, MA) added a double, RBI, run scored and stolen base. Merchant earned the Game 2 victory after allowing one run on eight hits while striking out six in a complete-game effort.
Game 1
Eastern Connecticut struck first in the opener as
Abby Thompson (Westborough, MA) singled home
Kaley Laird (Bristol, CT) in the top of the first inning.
WPI answered immediately in the bottom half as Latour walked and later scored on Fairbairn's RBI double to right center. Nagy followed with a run-scoring double of her own to put the Engineers in front 2-1.
The Warriors answered with two runs in the second inning.
Julia Boya (Coventry, CT) tied the game with an RBI single before Laird delivered a go-ahead hit to center for a 3-2 edge.
Eastern Connecticut added insurance in the fifth inning as
Grace Jenkins (Groton, CT) reached on an error that brought home Thompson before
Lily Kenefick (Southington, CT) added a sacrifice fly to make it 5-2.
Latour went 1-for-1 with three walks and a run scored for WPI while Fairbairn doubled and drove in a run. Nagy also doubled and plated a run.
Ali Chalovich (Pittsburgh, PA) added a pinch-hit single in the sixth inning.
Laird led the Warriors by going 3-for-3 with an RBI and two stolen bases while Thompson was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Boya added an RBI single and Jenkins scored twice.
In the circle,
Elizabeth Mitchell (Coventry, CT) earned the complete-game win after allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits with three strikeouts.
Naomi Boldebuck (Billerica, MA) took the loss for WPI after allowing five runs, three earned, on nine hits over seven innings.
Game #2
Eastern Connecticut State again grabbed an early lead in the nightcap as Jenkins doubled and later scored on an RBI single by
Maddy Bowen (Hudson, NH).
The Engineers responded with three runs in the bottom of the first. Latour walked and stole second while
Virginia McKinney (Larchmont, NY) also reached before Nagy ripped a two-run double to right.
Riley O'Brien (Wynantskill, NY) followed with an RBI single to make it 3-1.
WPI extended the advantage in the third inning when Chalovich walked ahead of Nagy's two-run home run to center. The Engineers added another run in the fourth as
Meg Sherwood (Norfolk, MA) stole second and
Stella Kozak (Auburn, NH) raced home on the throw.
WPI made it 7-1 in the fifth when Chalovich walked,
Colleen Mayer (Hillsborough, NJ) entered as a pinch runner and later scored on an Eastern error.
Nagy starred in the nightcap, going 2-for-2 with a double, a home run, four RBI and two runs scored. O'Brien added an RBI single while Kozak scored twice. Latour, McKinney, Chalovich and Sherwood each drew multiple walks as WPI worked seven free passes.
Bowen went 3-for-3 with the Warriors' lone RBI while Jenkins and Boya each doubled. Merchant improved to 16-0 after scattering eight hits and striking out six without issuing a walk.
Leah Chatfield (Naugatuck, CT) suffered the loss after allowing seven runs, six earned, over five innings.
WPI returns to action Saturday with a NEWMAC doubleheader against Salve Regina scheduled for noon at Rooftop Field. Eastern Connecticut is back on the field Saturday for a Little East Conference road doubleheader at UMass Boston beginning at 1pm.
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
