WELLESLEY, Mass., April 25, 2006 – Springfield College freshman Shanda Kogut knocked in the game’s only run and sophomore Stephanie Blackman hurled a three-hit shutout to lead the Pride softball team to a 1-0 victory this afternoon in a quarterfinal match-up in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) post-season tournament.

With the win, Springfield improves to 22-18 on the season, while Wellesley falls to 21-11.

Springfield thus advances to the first of two NEWMAC semifinal games this Saturday at Babson. The Pride will play the host team, Babson, at 10 a.m.

All the odd-seeded teams won this afternoon in NEWMAC first-round games. That included two upsets. #1-seeded Babson defeated #8-seeded Clark, 4-1. And #3-seeded Smith defeated #6-seeded Wheaton, 1-0. More unexpected was #5-seeded Springfield winning at #4-seeded Wellesley, 1-0, and #7-seeded WPI defeating #2-seeded Coast Guard, 8-0, in five innings.

Smith will meet WPI this Saturday at 12 noon in the second game of the NEWMAC semis. The two losers will then play at 2 p.m. The two winners will play at 4 p.m. On Sunday (April 30), there will be at least two games at Babson – at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. If a seventh overall game is needed, it will be played Sunday at 3 p.m.

In today’s game, senior first baseman Keir Stanford (Melrose, Mass.) led off Springfield’s top of the second with a single. She was sacrificed to second base. Kogut, a third baseman from Preston, Conn., then plated Stanford with a single to right – that run standing up for the remainder of the contest.

Blackman, a right-hander from Stamford, Conn., allowed only three hits, striking out two, in going the distance. Sophomore second baseman Denise Fumicello (Brockton, Mass.) and Kogut each had two hits apiece to pace the Pride attack.

Jenna Harvey (London, Ontario) took the loss for Wellesley. Harvey gave up just the one run on five hits, while striking out eight. Wellesley’s Meghan Sullivan was 2-for-3 for the day including a double.

Harvey was a 2-1 loser to Springfield in game #2 of a doubleheader at SC’s Potter Field back on April 8.

Today’s win was #401 in Head Coach Kathy Mangano’s career. Springfield has now won three straight entering Saturday’s NEWMAC semifinal showdown.

published: 04/25/2006