Springfield, Mass. – May 4, 2024 – The Springfield College softball team secured the top seed in the upcoming New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship Tournament following a doubleheader sweep of Salve Regina University, 8-0 & 10-2, on Saturday afternoon on Potter Field.

The sweep lifted Springfield, which was ranked fourth in this week's NCAA Division III Region II poll, to 28-8-1 overall and to 16-4 in NEWMAC play. This marks Springfield's first NEWMAC regular season title since 2013 and the sixth in program history, but only the fourth outright crown for the Pride.

Next week's NEWMAC Tournament will be played on Wednesday and Friday at Springfield's Potter Field with Saturday's games taking place at the highest remaining seed. The field features the Pride, Wheaton (15-5), MIT (14-6), Babson (13-7), Smith (12-8), WPI (11-9) and Coast Guard (11-9).

Springfield is scheduled to host the winner of Babson/Smith on Wednesday, May 8 at 4:30 pm.

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Game One: Springfield 8, Salve Regina 0 (5 Innings)

Springfield's offense in game one was powered by Callie Gendron (Berlin, Conn.), who went 2-for-3, with five RBI including a three-run home run as well as Alli Olsen (Ridgewood, N.J.), who went 3-for-3, with two RBI, a double and a triple.

Olsen led off the first with a triple to center and gave Springfield a 1-0 lead following an error by Salve Regina. Singles by Olsen and Ava Rainone (White Plains, N.Y.) allowed Gendron to come to the plate with two runners in scoring position. A slow roller up the middle by Gendron extended Springfield's lead to three through three frames.

With one out in the fourth, Emilia Santiago (West Hartford, Conn.) and Rainone both registered base knocks before Olsen drove both in with a double to the gap. Then with two outs with Olsen and Carissa Pecchia (Mamaroneck, N.Y) aboard, Gendron drilled the ball over the fence in left center for her third round tripper of the season to push the Pride lead to 8-0.

Amelia DeRosa (Miller Place, N.Y.) returned to the circle in the top of the fifth and struck out the final batter of the game to secure the 8-0 run rule game one win for the Pride. DeRosa improved to 14-5 as she scattered five hits and pitched a complete game shutout today.

Game Two: Springfield 10, Salve Regina 2 (6 Innings)

Springfield trailed 2-1 through four innings before the bats exploded for nine total runs in the fifth and the sixth to secure the sweep and the NEWMAC regular season title.

With runners on first and second, Pecchia drove in Olsen to even the score at two, before an RBI knock by Gendron plated DeRosa to give Springfield a 3-2 lead, a lead it wouldn't relinquish. A pinch-hit single to left by Tessa Spingola (Rindge, N.H.) and an error by the visitors pushed Springfield's advantage to three, 5-2, through five frames.

Springfield took advantage of two errors by Salve Regina in the bottom of the sixth to complete the walk-off game two win. Olsen scored the Pride's sixth run of the game on an over throw at first, before an RBI double from Breannah McCann (Poway, Calif.) plated Gendron. With the McCann on third and Michaela Ponticello (Gloversville, N.Y.) on first, pinch-hitter Leah May (Portland, Conn.) drilled a two-run double off the wall in left center to give the Pride the 10-2 walk-off win in six. The hit for May was her first collegiate knock.