Pitching Dominates as No. 19 Softball Splits Doubleheader at MIT

Recap, photo courtesy of Babson

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Sophomore Brooke Stock (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) allowed just one run in a complete-game effort and scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the third inning to help 19th-ranked Babson College earn a split of Friday's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) softball doubleheader at Briggs Field. The Beavers won game two 3-1 after suffering a 3-0 loss to the Engineers in the opener.

Babson, which has won eight of its last 10 games, is now 10-5 overall and 1-1 in league play, while MIT is 9-4-1 overall and 3-1 in the NEWMAC.

GAME ONE: MIT 3, Babson 0
Sophomore Tori Roche (Andover, Mass.) had a double and junior Josephine Mares (Houston, Texas) was 1-for-2 with a walk as the Beavers were shutout for the second time this season in game one. Senior Ali Reilly (New Canaan, Conn.) suffered her first loss of the year after giving up three earned runs on seven hits while striking out five and walking five in a complete-game effort.

Junior Ravenne Nasser (Methuen, Mass.) was superb for the hosts allowing just four hits and one walk while striking out five to record her first shutout of the year. Senior Amanda Lee (Saratoga, Calif.) went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI, and sophomore Sarah Von Ahn (West Linn, Ore.) added two hits and one RBI to pace the Engineers' offense.

MIT took the lead in the top of the first as sophomore Devon Goetz (Rockville, Md.) walked with one out and moved to second on a single by Lee before racing home to score on Von Ahn's base hit to right field. The Engineers loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth but were unable to extend their lead as Reilly (6-1) got a groundout, an infield pop-up and a strikeout to work out of the jam.

The Beavers stranded senior Samantha Smith (Hillsborough, N.J.) following a leadoff single in the bottom of the fourth and hit into a double play to end the fifth after first-year Jamie Hoffman (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) singled with one out. MIT tacked on a pair of insurance runs when Lee smacked a double down the left field line with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh to make it 3-0.

GAME TWO: Babson 3, MIT 1
Junior Alex Corrigan (Middletown, N.J.) went 2-for-2 with an RBI and six different players recorded a hit in support of Stock, who improved to 4-3 after striking out four and giving up just five hits for the Green and White. Mares and sophomore Kayla Schinik (Watchung, N.J.) both singled and drove in a run, while junior Ashley Tango (Reading, Mass.) doubled and scored in the victory.

First-year Colleen Campbell (Snoqualmie, Wash.) fell to 3-1 on the year after giving up two runs and failing to record an out in the third inning. Goetz doubled and scored in the top of the first for MIT.

After being blanked over the first nine innings of the day, the Babson offense came alive in the third. Tango led off with a double and stole third, Stock followed with a walk and Corrigan came through with an RBI single to tie the game at 1-1. Schinik drove in Stock with a base hit up the middle two batters later to give the Beavers their first lead of the day.

The Green and White left a pair of runners in scoring position in the fourth, but were able to tack on another insurance run in the fifth as Corrigan led off with a single and scored one batter later on a triple by Mares to left that nearly turned into an inside-the-park home run before she was gunned down at the plate thanks to a perfect relay.

Stock retired nine straight batters between the first and fourth innings and allowed just one base runner past second after the opening frame.