NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - In a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) doubleheader, the MIT softball team defeated Smith College with a score of 9-0 in the first game and 2-1 in the second. The Engineers are now 14-9 for the season and 4-4 in NEWMAC play, while the Pioneers dipped to 6-16 and 0-10 in conference action.

Senior Leah Alpert (Needham, Mass.) and freshman Alexandra Marshall (Glen Head, N.Y.) led MIT in the first game with two runs apiece, with Alpert going 2-for-3 and Marshall going 1-for-2. Freshman Tori Jensen (Holliston, Mass.) went 2-for-4 with one run and three RBIs.

The Engineers' offense came alive at the top of the sixth inning. Junior Sarah Van Belleghem (Los Gatos, Calif.) kicked off the four-run inning with her first homerun of the season. Off a double by Jensen, Marshall scored her second run of the game. To end the inning, both Jensen and sophomore Ellie Fodor (Trenton, Mich.) scored, bringing MIT's total runs to nine. Senior Anna Christensen (Vernon Hills, Ill.) and sophomore Kelly Wang (La Canada, Calif.) also added a run each earlier in the game.

Fodor pitched all six innings, allowing only three hits and zero runs, while striking out seven.

Van Belleghem earned MIT's first run in the third inning of the second game off a single by Christensen. The Pioneers answered this small lead with their first run of the day at the bottom of the fourth. The score remained tied at 1-1 until the top of the seventh inning when freshman Alex Burgess (Chelmsford, Mass.) scored off a single by Marshall. With the Pioneers unable to score in the final inning, the game ended with an MIT victory.

Van Belleghem was 2-for-3 with one run, while Burgess was 1-for-3 with one run. Marshall was at the mound for all seven innings, allowing five hits and one run and striking out eight.

The Cardinal and Gray will return to action tomorrow when they host fellow NEWMAC foe, Babson College, at 12:00 and 2:00 p.m., after having to reschedule due to rain.