WORCESTER -- The WPI softball team closed out the regular season dropping a pair of games to Babson on Saturday afternoon falling 4-0 in game one and 3-1 in game two.
After the losses, the Engineers (20-17-1, 11-9 NEWMAC) are now in sixth place in the NEWMAC standings and will host Coast Guard on Monday, May 6 at Rooftop Field in the 6/7 play-in game of the NEWMAC Tournament. Babson finishes the regular season with a 24-16 record, 13-7 in conference play.
Game One
WPI was only able to manage a pair of hits in the first game of the day as
Moira O'Reilly (Columbus, OH) went the distance for Babson in the shutout, picking up seven strikeouts in the game.
Babson got on the board first in the second inning with a pair of runs off of an Engineer error. Some big hits in the third inning added another run to the board for the Beavers who gained a 3-0 advantage and the team added another insurance run in the sixth inning en route to the shutout.
Callie Allison (Milford, OH) and
Sandy Fairbairn (Norton, MA) picked up the two WPI hits on the day with Allison's coming in the second inning and Fairbairn's in the top of the fourth as she snuck on with a bunt.
Naomi Boldebuck (Billerica, MA) picked up the loss for WPI pitching all six innings of action, allowing nine hits and three earned runs while striking out two.
Game Two
In the second game of the day, the Engineers were the first to get on the board in the top of the first inning.
Sydney Russell (Alexandria, VA) started things off with a leadoff single to centerfield and then stole second base. Russell finished the 2024 regular season with 24 stolen bases on 26 attempts. Two batters later,
Emma Nagy (Monroe, WA) came through with her 30th RBI of the season driving in Russell with a double to left centerfield to put a run on the board.
Babson would answer back in the bottom of the second and even the score, but the two teams were neck and neck for the remainder of the game until the Beavers added a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead and ultimately hang on for the win.
Shaina Lazarus (Thousand Oaks, CA) pitched all six innings on the day allowing just four hits and a pair of earned runs while walking five and striking out one.
Next Up
WPI is back in action in the 6/7 play-in game in the NEWMAC Championship on Monday afternoon. The Engineers are the No. 6 seed and will host No. 7 Coast Guard to kick off the 2004 Tournament. Babson finished the regular season in fourth place and will also return to action in the NEWMAC Championship this week.
