Game #1 - Babson 4, WPI 3
Game #2 - Babson 4, WPI 0
Game
#1 Box Score
Game #2 Box
Score
Babson Park, MA - The Babson College softball team maintained a
share of first place in the NEWMAC standings with a pair of league
victories on Friday afternoon, as the Beavers swept visiting WPI in
a doubleheader, 4-3 and 4-0. With the two wins, Babson improved to
19-11 overall and 8-2 in the conference, while the Engineers
slipped to 12-13 overall and 3-7 in the NEWMAC.
The Beavers grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the first inning of
game one, as senior captain Jess Cohen (Pittsford,
NY) doubled in junior Courtney Thurston (Taunton,
MA) with the first run of the contest and first-year
Nicole Giuliano (North Reading, MA) drove in
senior Jess Byrn (Safety Harbor, Fla.) with a single later in the
inning. However, WPI knotted the score in the top of the second, as
junior Jen Richards (Hampstead, NH) singled in
classmate Sara Migdal (Galway, NH), moved to
second on a wild pitch, and scored on an eventual RBI single to
right by first-year Sarah Johnson (Eastham, MA).
The Engineers grabbed their only lead of the afternoon in the
top of the fourth, when Richards blasted a double to left, went to
third on a single up the middle by first-year Sam
Wentzell (Tyngsboro, MA), and scored on an infield hit by
senior Briana Dougherty (Woburn, MA). However,
that would be all the WPI offense would muster against starting
pitcher Byrn, who allowed just two hits over the final three
innings as she gutted out a tough 132-pitch,
complete-game performance. Meanwhile, the Beavers' offense
would score two runs to take the lead for good in the bottom of the
fourth, as first-year Meg Cyr (Woodbury, CT) and
Thurston hit back-to-back singles with the bases loaded to give the
hosts the eventual 4-3 win.
Byrn upped her season mark to 11-5 with the win, as she allowed
three runs on nine hits and struck out eight in seven innings.
First-year Lindsay Brown (Westfield, NJ) went the
distance on the mound for WPI, giving up four runs on nine hits and
fanning one as she fell to 8-5 on the season. Thurston led Babson
with three hits, a run, and an RBI, while Richards went 3-for-3
with two runs and one driven in for the Engineers.
Game two featured an outstanding pitching performance from Babson
sophomore Danielle Liska (Seymour, CT), who held
WPI to just three hits and a walk while striking out 10 in five
scoreless innings of work. Liska (6-4) would eventually give way to
first-year Caroline Barr (Wilmington, MA), who
tossed two scoreless innings of relief to complete the shutout.
The Beavers offense got all the runs it would need in the bottom of
the first inning, as an error, a walk, and a single by Cohen loaded
the bases with no outs. Thurston then scored from third on the
Engineers second miscue of the inning, and, after a strike out,
sophomore Britt Russo (Middletown, CT) ripped a
two-run double to deep left-center field to make it a 3-0 game.
Babson would add another run in the second when Byrn walked,
advanced to second on a groundout, took third on a wild pitch, and
scored on a single up the middle by first-year Jess
Winer (Longmeadow, MA), as the Beavers completed the sweep
with a 4-0 victory.
Russo led the Beavers with two hard-hit doubles and two RBIs in the
nightcap, while Richards finished off a strong day at the plate
with two of WPI's four hits. Senior Heather
Hassett (Oxford, MA) took the loss (4-8) on the mound for
the Engineers, despite allowing just one earned run on five hits
and striking out seven in six innings.
Release Courtesy Babson Sports Information
