Babson Softball Rolls To Sweep of Emerson

Photo is courtesy of Babson College

BABSON PARK, Mass.—The Babson College softball team pounded out 23 hits, including eight for extra-bases, to sweep New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) foe Emerson College on Friday afternoon at Alumni Field. The Beavers recorded an 8-0 six-inning victory in game one, and then won game two, 9-1, in five innings.

Babson, which has won five straight, is now 18-10 overall and 7-5 in conference play, while Emerson, which has dropped 14 consecutive games, falls to 8-22 overall and 0-12 in the NEWMAC.

First-year Annie Quine (Santa Monica, Calif.) went 4-for-4 with a home run and three RBI, while
senior Rachel Bullard (Worcester, Mass.) was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, two RBI and two runs scored to lead the Beavers in the opener. Sophomore Ali Reilly (New Canaan, Conn.), who recorded her third shutout of the season by striking out three and scattering seven hits over six innings, is now 10-7 on the year. She also went 2-for-3 at the dish with an RBI and a run scored.

Sophomore Jill Gearin (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) and first-year Caroline Fortuna (Higganum, Conn.) both had two hits for the Lions, who stranded eight runners in the loss.

After leaving the bases loaded in the first, the Green and White scored four times with two outs in the second. Bullard drove in sophomore Samantha Smith (Hillsborough, N.J.) and Reilly with a double to right center, and Quine followed with a two-run blast to left center for a 4-0 lead.

Quine plated both Bullard and Smith when her single to right was misplayed with one out in the fourth as the Beavers extended their advantage to 6-0. Junior Catherine Pitts (Winchester, Mass.) raced home on Reilly's RBI base hit in the fifth, and senior Maya Lacy (East Mill Creek, Utah) ended the game in the bottom of the sixth with a run-scoring single to left.

Senior Samantha Corey (Londonderry, N.H.) took the loss in the opener for Emerson after giving up six runs (two earned) and eight hits in 3.1 innings.

The Lions took an early lead in the nightcap as sophomore Kodie Cash (Big Bear City, Calif.) drove in classmate Molly Goldstein (Ridgefield, Conn.) with a one-out single to right. Smith tied the game on Bullard's RBI ground out in the bottom of the frame, and Babson scored three times in each of the next two innings to bust the game open.

Lacy drilled a two-run homer to left as part of a three-run second inning, and senior Madison Dinaso (Ardsley, N.Y.) produced a two-run single in a three-run third inning to give the Green and White a 7-1 edge. First-year Josephine Mares (Houston, Texas) plated Quine with a two-out double in the fourth, and Quine capped the win with an infield single to drive in Dinaso with one out in the fifth.

Mares, who went 2-for-2 and reached base three times, added a triple and scored twice for Babson. Smith went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored, while sophomore Nicole Civello (Huntington Station, N.Y.) finished 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Dinaso gave up just one run on five hits while striking out three in a complete-game effort to move to 4-1 on the year in the circle for the Beavers. Cash, who went 2-for-2 at the dish, suffered the loss to drop to 1-7 on the season after allowing seven runs on seven hits and three walks in just 3.0 innings.

Both teams are back in action on Saturday with doubleheaders starting at 12 p.m. as Babson visits Springfield, while Emerson travels to Smith.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are now 5-2 all-time against Emerson and have swept the regular-season series in each of the last two years.
• Smith extended her hitting streak to nine games and now leads the Green and White with 13 extra-base hits.
• Babson has at least one extra-base hit in 10 consecutive games going back to April 8.
• The Beavers five-game winning streak matches its longest of the season.