 |
March 16, 2008
Box Score (vs. Manchester) | Box Score (vs. Amherst)
TUCSON, Ariz. - Sophomore Danielle Liska and senior Jess Byrn combined to strike out 24 opposing hitters on Sunday, as the Babson College softball team picked up two more victories on its spring break trip to Arizona. The Beavers defeated Manchester, 8-2, and Amherst, 8-1. Liska was dominating on the mound against Manchester, allowing just two unearned runs on six hits while striking out a career-high 13 in a complete game victory. The 13 K's easily surpassed her previous high of 10 set last April against Coast Guard. Despite Liska's stellar pitching, Babson trailed 2-1 after four innings thanks to a pair of unearned runs by Manchester in the top of the third. The Beavers' run came in the bottom of the third when Byrn tripled in junior Courtney Thurston with one out. After Liska struck out the side for the second time in the game in the top of the fifth, the Beavers jumped in front for good with four runs in the bottom half of the inning. Thurston and Byrn each singled to put runners on the corners with one out, setting up junior Kaitlyn Clark's RBI-single that tied the game at 2-2. Senior captain Jess Cohen then reached on an error to load the bases, and first-year Jess Winer followed with a bases-clearing single that gave the Green and White a 5-2 lead. Babson would tack on three more in the sixth inning, as Byrn, Clark, and Cohen recorded consecutive RBI-singles to cap off the 8-2 win. Clark and Byrn each went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs in the opener, while Thurston added two hits and scored a team-best three runs. Winer added three RBIs in the victory, and sophomore Brittney Russo added two hits in three at-bats.
Babson's second game of the day featured another magnificent pitching performance from Byrn, who stifled Amherst in an 8-1 win. The senior righty allowed just one run on two hits, walked one and struck out 11 in seven innings of work as she improved to 2-0 on the year. Byrn received plenty of offensive support, as the Beavers plated two runs in the first and six more in the second for an early 8-0 advantage. Cohen doubled in Thurston with the game's first run and later scored on a single by Winer. Both Babson runs in the opening frame came with two outs and were unearned thanks to an inning-opening error. A single and an error to start the second put two runners on for Thurston, who knocked in the Beavers' third run with a single. Byrn followed with a two-run single to make it 5-0 and later scored the sixth Babson run on an RBI groundout by sophomore Michelle Bolduc. Russo eventually finished off the Beavers' scoring with a two-run double, knocking in Clark and rookie pinch-runner Laura Douglas to make it 8-0. Amherst's lone run off Byrn came in the top of the fourth, when junior Alexa Princi led off with a single, moved to second on a groundout, and scored on a double to left by classmate Holly Trace. Byrn and Russo each finished with two RBIs in game two, while Thurston scored twice. Bolduc and junior Kim D'Agostino each added two hits in the win. Babson returns to action with a grueling triple-header on Monday, as the Beavers take on Delaware Valley, Eastern Connecticut State, and Franklin Pierce. |
 |
|
|
