Worcester, Mass. —
Box Score
The 7-seed United States Coast Guard Academy softball team saw their season come to an end on Saturday with a 2-4 loss to top seed Worcester Polytechnic Institute in elimination game action of the 2026 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship Tournament.
The #12 Engineers improved to a 40-3 overall record with the win, advancing them to a championship game meeting against 2-seed #25 MIT.
Hayden Reilly (Prosper, Tex.) led off the game with an infield single to continue her stellar postseason. She advanced to third base after Engineers ace
Abby Merchant rolled ground outs from the next two batters. It took a throwing error on a third consecutive routine grounder for Reilly to cross the plate and give the Bears an early 1-0 lead.
Bears hurler
Dana Walker (Macon, Ga.) was once again holding the line for her team from the circle. She faced adversity in the bottom 1st when WPI put runners on first and second with two outs, but was able to induce a ground out to get out of it. In the bottom 2nd,
Ali Chalovich led off with a single down the right field line and made it around to third on back-to-back ground outs from the next two batters, but a third roller in a row got Walker back to the dugout unscathed.
The bottom 3rd was the scariest for Walker, as WPI loaded the bases with two outs following a hit-by-pitch. Chalovich stepped up and laid into a 2-0 pitch to send it to deep center field, and drive in a few runs for the hosts if it landed. Luckily for Walker and the Bears, center fielder
Abriana Schmutz (Marysville, Ohio) used her elite speed to make a running web-gem catch at the warning track to end the inning. Schmutz made a similar highlight catch just a day prior during the Bears' elimination game win against 2-seed Springfield College.
The Engineers broke through in the bottom 4th. With two already out,
Meg Sherwood put a runner in scoring position with a double to right-center field, and
Lucy Latour followed by drawing a walk. It looked as if the Bears would get out of another threatening opportunity unscathed when the next batter hit an infield grounder, but the throw went wide left of first base, allowing Sherwood and Latour to cross and give WPI its first lead.
After a scoreless 5th for Coast Guard,
Zoey Lynn (Nokomis, Fla.) led off the top 6th with a double to left-center. Merchant was able to get the next two Bears out, but
Bridget Bartz (Arlington, Va.) ensured she would not leave the inning with ease. The Coast Guard senior pulled the first pitch she saw down the left field line to bring Lynn around as the tying run and pull into second base with a stand-up double.
But the celebration for Coast Guard was short lived.
Elizabeth Jordan led the bottom half off with a single and later advanced to second base on a passed ball. The Engineers regained the lead when she was picked up by a Latour single. Latour herself advanced to second base on a ground out by the next batter, and she'd come around as insurance when
Sandy Fairbairn doubled to right field. The Bears got out of the inning when right fielder
Maura Murphy (Bristow, Va.) robbed a drive by
Emma Nagy that seemed destined to clear the fence.
The Bears would not go quietly. Reilly led off the top 7th with a double to right field and advanced to third base after Merchant sailed one over her catcher's head. The WPI freshman stranded Reilly at third and clinched advancement for the hosts with a ground out and a pop out from the next two batters.
Merchant improved to 24-0 with the win, striking out seven Bears on the way, while Walker closed her senior season at 15-11 with a three-strikeout effort. Murphy's robbery of Nagy ensured Walker completed her senior year without allowing a home run. Fairbairn and Reilly both posted the only multi-hit performances of the contest, with the Bears outfielder wrapping up a 10-for-18 postseason with her effort.
Coast Guard softball wraps their season up with a 19-18 record. The persistent Bears saw three of those wins come from elimination games across the past week.
