NORTON, Mass. – The Babson College softball team broke a 0-0 stalemate with a run in the top of the ninth inning to come away with a 1-0 victory to gain a split against host Wheaton College (Mass.) this afternoon in the second game of a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference doubleheader at Clark Softball Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons dip to 13-10 and suffer their first conference loss to drop to 7-1, while the Beavers improve to 12-13 and 3-5.
The teams combined for nine hits in a game where the only error led to the eventual winning run.
Despite the lack of hits and runs in the game, both teams were able to reach base in all but two innings apiece. Prior to their only run, Babson had not advanced past second base the entire game and Wheaton reached third base just once.
Junior left fielder Juliette Zito (Woodbridge, Conn.) led the Lyons as the only hitter in the game to collect multiple hits, going 2-3 with a stolen base. Senior shortstop Lindsey Oliveira (Westport, Mass.) and senior third base Bryanna Agan (Averill Park, N.Y.) each finished the game at 1-3. Sophomore starting pitcher Amber Arcand (Millville, Mass.) was saddled with the loss after yielding a run on five hits and a walk to go with four strikeouts in seven complete innings to dip to 1-4 on the season.
Senior starting southpaw pitcher Moira O'Reilly (Columbus, Ohio) tossed seven innings of four-hit shutout ball and improved to 7-7 on the season for the Beavers and allowed just one walk, while fanning six batters in seven innings on just 84 pitches. First year first base Charlotte Raymond (Wrentham, Mass.) registered the only extra base hit of the game in the fateful seventh inning to set up the game's only run for the visitors. Graduate student third base Michaela Russell (Boston, Mass.) was 1-3 with a stolen base. O'Reilly
Raymond cracked a lead-off double to left field for Babson, before graduate student center fielder Cassidy Musco (Walpole, Mass.) pushed her just 60 feet from home plate with a sacrifice bunt. Sophomore designated player Sophia Pak (New Rochelle, N.Y.) grounded to shortstop, but the Wheaton infielder couldn't come up with the play and Raymond scampered home with the only run of the contest. Junior shortstop Athena Hadjipanayis (Rye, N.Y.) followed with a single up the middle and first year catcher Ruby Madia (Princeton Junction, N.J.) later reached on a fielder's choice to advance sophomore pinch-runner Allie Cubberly (Lagrangeville, N.Y.) to third, but Arcand got a strikeout to keep it a one-run game.
O'Reilly set the Lyons down in order in the seventh to secure the win for the Beavers.
Wheaton's best chance to score came in the bottom of the second when Agan reached on an infield single, advanced to second on a wild pitch and went to third on a sacrifice bunt, but O'Reilly induced a pop-up to end the threat.
Babson returns to play tomorrow when it travels to Northampton, Mass. for a NEWMAC doubleheader at 11:00 a.m. vs. Smith College, while the Lyons host nationally-ranked conference foe Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Monday, April 15 at 3:00 p.m. for a twinbill at Clark Softball Field.
