Worcester, Mass. – The Smith College pitching combination of Rowan Turner (Prairie Village, Kan.) and Natalie Burchat (Shrewsbury, Mass.) struck out 22 batters and the host Pioneers swept a New England Women's And Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) softball doubleheader from Clark University on Friday afternoon at Smith Field.

With the two wins, Smith improves to 3-1 in league play and 6-8 overall, while the Scarlet and White slip to 8-14 overall and 0-4 in conference contests.

Clark will return to action on Saturday when they visit Wellesley College for a league doubleheader that has been moved to an 11:00 a.m. start.

Game 1: Smith College 6, Clark University 2

Turner was excellent in the circle for the Pioneers in the opener, striking out a career-best nine as she retired 14 of the first 15 batters she faced.

Anjelica Gonzalez (Merrimack, N.H.) was the Cougars' only baserunner through the first five innings after her second inning single, but she was erased on a Taylor Erickson (Natick, Mass.) flyout, meaning Turner faced the minimum 15 batters through the first five innings.

Turner's offense staked her to a five-run lead in the bottom of the first as they took advantage of a trio of Clark errors. Five different batters drove in runs for Smith in the frame, including Turner with a double of her own.

The Cougar offense started to show some life in the sixth when Erickson reached on a base hit and then Kayleigh McHugh (Pepperell, Mass.) blasted her first career homerun to left field.

Clark threatened in the seventh when Lauren Mackey (Dublin, N.H.) led off the inning with a double and then moved to third when Rachel Kraytenberg (Londonderry, N.H.) reached on an error. After Kraytenberg went to second on a Gonzalez groundout, the Cougars had two runners in scoring position, but Turner struck out the final two batters to end the game.

Erickson (1-3) took the loss for the Scarlet and White, allowing eight hits and six runs only three of which were earned.

Game 2: Smith College 4, Clark University 2

The nightcap was scoreless for the first three innings until the Cougars pushed a pair of runs across in the top of the fourth.

Alyssa Wright (Manchester, N.H.) and Jocie Orangio (Maynard, Mass.) opened the inning with back-to-back hits and then moved to second and third on a passed ball. Kraytenberg then brought them both home when she smacked a double to center, making the score 2-0.

Smith wasted little time answering as they took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth with one swing of the bat. After the Pioneers loaded the bases on Sami West (Gonic, N.H.) with a walk, a single and an error, Emma Kraus crushed a grand slam to centerfield to put Smith back in front, 4-2.

Burchat, who already had ten strikeouts through the first five innings, recorded three more in the final two innings to reach her new career-high.

Wright had two of the five Clark hits in the second game, while Kraytenberg, Orangio and Olivia Barksdale (Fort Washington, Md.) had the others.