WINTER HAVEN, Fla.— Junior Caroline Taylor (Biddeford, Maine) went 3-for-6 with three RBI as the 20th-ranked Babson College softball team split a pair of games Monday afternoon in The Spring Games at the DiamondPlex. The Beavers defeated Ohio Northern University in the opener, 3-1, and went to extra innings against No. 11 Case Western Reserve University but lost in eighth innings, 3-2.

With the losses, Babson is now 3-3 on the Florida trip and 6-6 overall, while Ohio Northern dropped to 1-3 overall and Case Western improved to 8-0.

Game 1 – Babson 3, Ohio Northern 1

Taylor had two hits and knocked in a career-high three runs for the Beavers, while sophomore Athena Hadjipanayis (Rye, N.Y.) went 1-for-3 and scored two runs and senior Kate Karamouzis (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) was 1-for-3 and scored once. Junior Chloe Joslin (Wyoming, R.I.) and sophomore Sara Moore (Kennett Square, Pa.) also recorded one hit apiece in the victory.

Junior Moira O'Reilly (Columbus, Ohio) allowed just one run on four hits and two walks in five innings, striking out three to record her fourth win of the season (4-2). Sophomore Alyssa DeStefano (Ridgefield, Conn.) pitched the final two innings without giving up a run to earn her first save, surrendering a hit and a pair of walks and fanning two.

The Beavers plated all the runs they would need with two in the first inning. After Karamouzis singled with two outs, Hadjipanayis and first-year Sophia Pak (New Rochelle, N.Y.) both reached base on infield errors to load the bases, and Taylor recorded an infield single and Karamouzis and Hadjipanayis both raced home.

Babson tacked on an insurance run in the third inning when Hadjipanayis reached on an infield single, went to second on a passed ball and came around to score on Taylor's two-out single to left.

O'Reilly allowed just three hits through four innings before being touched for a run in the fifth. She issued a pair of walks and an RBI single to right by senior Abby Elliott (Loveland, Ohio) but got the next batter to pop out to end the rally. DeStefano got out of a jam in the sixth without any harm after loading the bases on a hit by pitch and two walks before inducing a popup to end the inning. She prevented any damage in the seventh after two batters reached on an error and a single, but she got a 1-3 ground out to end the game.

Game 2 – Case Western Reserve 3, Babson 2

Moore had two hits and scored a run for the Beavers, while Pak cracked a double and an RBI and Hadjipanayis singled, scored a run and knocked one in. Taylor also singled to round out her three-hit day.

Junior Nicole Sestito (Sea Girt, N.J.) started and pitched 5.1 innings, allowing just two runs on six hits against nationally-ranked Spartans. First-year Natasha Taubenheim (Westport, Conn.) worked two innings in the circle, allowing just one unearned run and three hits but suffered the tough-luck loss (1-1).

Case Western got on the board first when senior Carli Tucci (River Forest, Ill.) drew a leadoff walk to start the second inning, advanced to third on a wild pitch and an infield grounder before scoring on a sacrifice fly by first-year Elizabeth Berry (Plymouth, Minn.).

Babson finally got on the scoreboard with a pair of runs in the sixth inning. Moore reached on a leadoff bunt single and went to second on a sac bunt before Hadjipanayis delivered an RBI single through the left side and Pak followed with an RBI double to right to put the Beavers up 2-1. The Spartans evened the score in the bottom half of the inning when senior Amanda Riely (Park City, Utah) clouted her first home run of the season down the left field line.

Both teams put a runner in scoring position in the seventh but couldn't them across the plate. Babson pushed the designated runner to third in the top of the eighth but she was stranded, and CWRU ended it in the bottom of the eighth on Tucci's game-winning double to center.

Babson will continue its Florida trip on Tuesday with two more games, facing Wisconsin-Stout at 9 a.m. and SUNY Geneseo at 11:30 a.m.

GAME NOTES
• Monday's games were the first career meetings for Babson against both Ohio Northern and Case Western Reserve.
• Taylor has reached base safely in 10 of the Beaver's first 12 games, collecting 11 hits after entering the season with six career hits.
• Hadjipanayis has hit safely in four straight games and six of her last seven, batting .350 (7-for-20) in that span.