Worcester, Mass. – Visiting Emerson College did just enough over two contests to collect a New England Women's And Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) softball sweep of Clark University on Saturday afternoon at O'Brien Field.

The Lions won the opener 7-1 and then escaped with a 5-3 decision in the nightcap to wrap up their season at 14-18 overall and 4-14 in league games. Clark, meanwhile, remains winless in conference contests and are 2-24 overall with two games left on their schedule next weekend at MIT.

Game 1: Emerson College 7, Clark University 1

After a scoreless first three innings, Emerson scored runs in each of the final four to take the opener. Hayley Buckheit (Camden Hills, Maine) was cruising along until Lyndi McIntyre (Wichita, Kan.) crushed a one out solo homer in the fourth.

Clark had a chance to score in the fourth when they had Buckheit and Melanie Dusseault (Auburn, N.H.) on second and third with no outs, but Lion starter Sam Corey (Londonderry, N.H.) was able to work out of trouble. First Buckheit was thrown out at home on a fielder's choice and then Corey got Anjelica Gonzalez (Merrimack, N.H.) to pop out and then she struck out former high school teammate Rachel Kraytenberg (Londonderry, N.H.) to end the threat.

Emerson added three runs in the fifth – two of which came on a two-run single by Amanda Horton (Riverside, R.I.).

The Cougars broke through in the bottom of the fifth when Annmarie Fransen (Belmont, Mass.) doubled and went to third on a base hit by Lina Nguyen (Worcester, Mass.). Fransen then raced home on a groundout by Leah Bodin (Andover, Vt.).

An unearned run came home in the sixth for Emerson and then Jackie DeFusco (East Greenwich, R.I.) and McIntyre each had RBI singles in the seventh.

Corey went the first five innings to get the win for the Lions, allowing four hits and one earned run.

Game 2: Emerson College 5, Clark University 3

In the nightcap, Clark University brought the winning run to the plate with two outs, but Lion reliever Alexis Ellis-Alvarez (Santee, Calif.) forced a Gonzalez popup on the first pitch to seal the sweep for the visitors.

Down, 5-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh, momentum started to swing in the Cougars' favor after Corey struck out the first two batters of the inning. Buckheit drew a walk and then moved to third on a single by Dusseault. Alyssa Wright (Manchester, N.H.) smacked a single to right that scored Buckheit, putting runners on the corners and brought up the potential winning run.

Emerson touched Clark starter Sami West (Gonic, N.H.) for two runs in the first but the Cougars responded with a run in the bottom of the frame on a Kraytenberg sacrifice fly.

The Scarlet and White then tied the score in the fourth when Gonzalez led off the inning with her third double of the season. Fransen then knotted the score with a hard hit single to left.

With the score even at 2-2, the Lions surged back ahead courtesy of a McIntyre two-run double and a Jill Gearin (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) sacrifice fly in the fifth.

McIntyre had two hits and two RBI to lead the Emerson offense, while Clark's 2-3-4 hitters of Dusseault, Wright and Gonzalez all had two hits, accounting for six of the eight Cougar hits in the nightcap.

West went the distance in the circle for the Scarlet and White, allowing just four hits and five runs – only two of which were earned and six strikeouts.