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April 23, 2008
Box Score (Babson vs. Clark) | Box Score (Babson vs. Wellesley)
WELLESLEY, Mass. - In the opening round of the New England Men's and Women's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Softball Tournament, #5 Babson College defeated #4 Clark, 3-2, in 10 innings, behind a magnificent pitching performance from sophomore Danielle Liska (Seymour, Conn.). With the win, the Beavers will face top-seeded Wellesley at 5:00 today. Clark drops to the loser's bracket of the double-elimination tournament, facing an as-yet-to-be-determined opponent at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 26, at Wellesley College. After two uneventful innings, Babson threatened in the top of the third, using a walk, a Clark miscue, and a single from Courtney Thurston (Tauton, Both pitchers remained strong through the middle innings. After five innings, Clark's Warren had scattered five hits and allowed no runs, while Liska held the potent Clark offense scoreless on just two hits. Entering the seventh inning in a 0-0 tie, Warren retired the Beavers in order. Liska did the same, setting up the extra-inning battle. In the top of the eighth, the international tie-breaker rule placed Thurston on second to start the inning. A single to left from senior captain Jess Cohen (Pittsford, N.Y.) drove in Thurston, finally breaking the 0-0 tie and giving the Beavers a 1-0 edge. In the bottom of the inning, Clark's Julie Murray (Millbury, Mass.) was placed on second. A bunt from Chelsea Proulx's (Franklin, N.H.) advanced Murray to third. With the infield playing in, a bloop single to short right scored Murray, tying the game at 1-1.
A scoreless ninth for both teams pushed the game to the tenth, where senior Jess Byrn (Safety Harbor, Fla.) was placed on second to start the top half. With one out, Cohen doubled to deep left, scoring Byrn and giving the Beavers a 2-1 edge. First-year Jess Winer (Longmeadow, Mass.) followed with a single to left-center, driving in Cohen for a 3-1 lead. Russo's single up the middle nearly broke the game open, but a strong throw from Julie Parnell (Webster, Mass.) nailed pinch-runner Caroline Barr (Wilmington, Mass.) at the plate, keeping the score at 3-1. In the bottom half of the inning, Clark's Katherine Tutela started on second base and scampered home on a two-out double from Blake to cut the lead to 3-2. However, Liska slammed the door with her 11th strikeout of the game, securing Babson the win. Russo led the Beaver offense, going 3-for-5. Thurston, Byrn, Cohen, and Winer added two hits each, with Cohen driving in two runs. Liska earned the win for Babson, allowing six hits and no earned runs in 10 innings of work to improve to 8-5. Proulx had a strong day at the plate for Clark, going 3-4, while Blake, Parnell and Darcy Kurashige-Elliott chipped in one hit each. Warren took the loss, allowing 10 hits and three runs in 9 1/3 innings. NOTE: Taken from a Wellesley College press release. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Game #2: Wellesley 2, Babson 0 WELLESLEY, Mass. - In a rematch of the 2007 New England Men's and Women's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Softball championship game, Wellesley starter Jenna Harvey (London, Ontario, Canada) outlasted Babson pitcher Jess Bryn (Safety Harbor, FL) as Wellesley picked up a 2-0 first round win over the Beavers. Babson drops to the loser's bracket of the double-elimination tournament, facing third seeded Springfield at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 26, at Wellesley College. Wellesley advances to play second seeded Wheaton on Saturday at 2:00pm. After two scoreless innings, Babson threatened in the top of the third as the Beavers put two runners on with no outs. However, Harvey forced a pop-out and then two strikeouts to get out of the jam. Wellesley got on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 1-0 lead. Following two quick outs, Megan Wood (Jacksonville, FL) worked a 14-pitch walk while Shawna McCreadie (Des Plaines, IL) reached on a two-base error that advanced Wood to third. Meghan Sullivan (Markam, Ontario) then drove Wood home on a line shot up the middle. The Blue picked up another run in the bottom of fifth inning on a sacrifice fly from Ilana Orloff (Weston, MA) that scored Amanda Tai (Melrose, MA). Tai had reached base after being hit by a pitch and was advanced on a single from Alison Davis (Glen Ellyn, IL). Holding on to a 2-0 lead in the top of the seventh inning, Harvey struck out the side to preserve the first-round win for Wellesley. Harvey was dominant on the mound for the Blue allowing no runs and only one hit, a bloop single in the first inning. She finished the afternoon with 15 strikeouts. For Babson, Bryn was solid in the loss throwing six innings, allowing only one earned run on three hits while striking out two. Kaitlyn Clark (Ramsey, NJ) picked up the only hit for the Beavers. NOTE: Taken from a Wellesley College press release. |
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