Canan Records 400th Win as Babson Softball Downs Brandeis, 4-2

Photo is courtesy of Babson College

WALTHAM, Mass.— Senior Madison Dinaso (Ardsley, N.Y.) tossed a complete game and Babson College pounded out 13 hits to help head coach Dave Canan earn his 400th career victory in a 4-2 win over Brandeis University in non-conference softball action on Monday afternoon at Marcus Field.

With its fifth win in the last seven games, Babson is now 15-10 on the year, while Brandeis drops to 11-11.

Seniors Caitie Benoit (Williamstown, Mass.) and Maya Lacy (East Mill Creek, Utah) both went
3-for-3 with a run scored, while junior Leslie Moore (Atkinson, N.H.) was 3-for-4 with a home run for the Beavers. First-year Annie Quine (Santa Monica, Calif.) also had a pair of hits in support of Dinaso, who allowed two runs on nine hits while striking out three to move to 3-1 on the year.
First-year Keri Lehtonen (Oneco, Conn.) went 3-for-4 with a run scored, while senior Madison Gagnon (Westlake Village, Calif.) had two hits, including a double, and drove in a run for the Judges. Junior Melissa Soleimani (Somerset, Mass.) dropped to 6-7 on the year after giving up three runs on eight hits in three innings.

The Green and White left the bases loaded in the first, but took a 1-0 lead an inning later when Lacy stole third and raced home on a throwing error. Moore extended the Beavers' advantage with a solo homer to lead off the third, and Benoit followed with her second dinger of the year to make it 3-0.
Brandeis used a solo blast from sophomore Amanda Shore (San Jose, Calif.) and a two-out RBI double by Gagnon to cut its deficit to 3-2 in the fifth. Babson tacked on an insurance run in the top of the seventh though, as first-year Ashley Tango (Reading, Mass.) plated Quine with a two-out double to left.

The Judges, who stranded seven runners on the afternoon, threatened in the last of the seventh with back-to-back two-out singles, but Dinaso caught Gagnon looking to end the threat and preserve the win.

Babson and Brandeis will complete their regular-season series on today when the teams meet at Marcus Field starting at 4 p.m.

GAME NOTES
• Babson is now 26-15 all-time against Brandeis and has won 19 of the last 22 meetings between the teams.
• The winningest coach in program history, Canan has won 25 games or more in seven of his first 16 seasons at Babson.
• The Beavers are now 11-4 in road games going back to the start of the 2015 campaign.