No. 14 Softball Tripped Up by Juniata in Florida Finale, 6-1

Recap, photo courtesy of Babson

CLERMONT, Fla.—Juniata College scored five times with two outs and limited 14th-ranked Babson College to just five hits in a 6-1 victory in non-conference softball action at Legends Way Park on Tuesday morning.

With the loss, Babson saw its-five game winning streak come to an end and is now 7-4 on the year. The Beavers took a 7-0 lead into the bottom of the third inning in their second game of the day against Hope College before it was halted due and later cancelled due to weather. Juniata, which has won three straight games, is now 3-2 overall.

Sophomore Victoria Casey (Emerson, N.J.) finished with two hits, junior Annie Quine (Santa Monica, Calif.) tripled and sophomores Tori Roche (Andover, Mass.) and Brooke Stock (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) both singled for the Beavers. Stock (2-3) and sophomore Katie Gademsky (Hillsborough, N.J.) both allowed three runs on five hits while combining for five strikeouts.

Sophomore Molly Ulrich (Homer, N.Y.) and senior Alicia Regnault (Bridgewater, N.J.) both doubled and drove in a pair of runs to lead the Eagles' 10-hit attack. Sophomore Alyssa Shedlock (State College, Pa.) and senior Kerigan Ammerman (Alexandria, Pa.) were both 2-for-4 with a double apiece in support of first-year Erin Pfeffer (Camp Hill, Pa.), who gave up just one run on five hits while fanning two in a complete-game effort to improve to 2-1.

The Green and White erased a 1-0 deficit in the bottom of the third as Casey singled to left and moved to third on a wild pitch and a ground out before racing home on another wild pitch to pull even. Juniata went back in front in the fourth though, as Ulrich drew a two-out walk and Regnault and senior Brooke Ridenour (Thurmont, Md.) followed with back-to-back RBI doubles to make it 3-1.

The Eagles put together another two-out rally in the fifth with three straight singles and a two-out, two-run double to left by Ulrich to extend their advantage to 6-1. Pefeffer, who allowed just a pair of singles over the final four innings, retired the final eight batters she faced to close out the victory.

Babson returns to action on Sunday when it is scheduled to host Clark in a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are now 0-1 all-time against Juniata.
• Babson's five hits matched its lowest output of the season.
• By winning four of their five games this week, the Beavers improve to 28-15 in the state of Florida going back to 2015.