COLUMBUS, Ga.—First-year
Katie Vlacich (Concord, N.H.) allowed just one run over 7.0 innings in her collegiate debut to help Babson College defeat No. 6 Moravian College, 2-1, to earn a split of its games at the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Leadoff Classic on Saturday at the South Commons Complex.
The Beavers (1-2) opened the day with a 5-2 loss to Chapman (5-3) before handing the Greyhounds (1-1) their first loss of the season.
Chapman 5, Babson 2
Graduate student
Kate Karamouzis (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) doubled and walked, senior
Molly Hennessy (Tallahassee, Fla.) went 1-for-2 with an RBI single and a walk and junior
Sara Moore (Kennett Square, Pa.) singled for the Beavers. Senior
Moira O'Reilly (Columbus, Ohio) went the distance in the circle giving up three earned runs on seven hits while striking out 12. She is now 0-2 on the year.
Sophomore Mia Reyes (Elk Grove, Calif.) singled twice and scored three times, while Jordan Westerfield (Placentia, Calif.) singled and knocked in a pair of runs for the Panthers. Sophomore Rose Malen (San Rafael, Calif.) pitched the final two innings and earned the win in the circle to improve to 2-2 on the year.
Chapman went in front on Murphy's RBI double in the top of the third, but graduate student
Jackie Hill (Franklin, N.H.) led off the last of the fourth with a walk and stole second before racing home when Hennessy's bunt was misplayed to help Babson pull even. Down 2-1 entering the bottom of the sixth, junior
Athena Hadjipanayis (Rye, N.Y.) reached out a fielder's choice, stole second and moved to third on a throwing error before scoring on Hennessey's two-out single to make it 2-2.
The Panthers went back ahead for good in the seventh, taking advantage of a leadoff walk and a pair of errors to plate three runs. Westerfield made it 4-2 with one-out, bases-loaded single and Murphy scored an insurance run on a sacrifice fly by junior Ilianna Serna (Placentia, Calif.) for the final margin.
Babson 2, Moravian 1
Hadjipanayis and first-year
Emily Walsh (Flemington, N.J.) both singled twice in support of Vlacich (1-0), who struck out two and walked two while scattering six hits in her collegiate debut. Walsh also had a stolen base and scored once in the win for the Beavers.
Sophomore Sydney Andrews (Quakertown, Pa.) shouldered the loss for the Greyhounds after giving up one run on four hits to go along with two strikeouts in 5.0 innings of relief. Classmate Sarah DeStefano (Ringoes, N.J.) started and allowed one run on two hits over two innings of work.
The Green and White jumped on top in the top of the first as Walsh stroked a one-out single to center and stole second with two outs before racing home on a base hit by Hadjipanayis to make it 1-0. Vlacich struck out junior Holly Walter (Center Valley, Pa.) to get out of bases-loaded jam in the second and stranded the tying run at third in the fourth before Moravian pulled even on sophomore Macie Silberman's (Bethlehem, Pa.) one-out single to center in the fifth.
Andrews set down Babson in order in the sixth and recorded two quick outs in the seventh before allowing back-to-back pinch-hit singles. First-year
Ruby Madia (Princeton Junction, N.J.) dropped a ball into right field that was misplayed allowing her to advance to second and classmate
Charlotte Raymond (Wrentham, Mass.) followed with a base hit to left that brought home senior
Caroline Taylor (Kennebunk, Maine) with the go-ahead run.
Vlacich retired the side in order in the bottom of the seventh to finish off her first career win.
Babson wraps up the weekend in Columbus, Ga., on Sunday when it faces No. 16 East Texas Baptist at 11 a.m. and Wartburg at 1:30 p.m.
GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are now 0-1 all-time against Chapman and 1-1 versus Moravian.
• Babson's victory over Moravian is the program's highest ranked win since 2019 when it split a doubleheader with fifth-ranked MIT.
• Moore had her 13-game hitting streak snapped in the win over the Greyhounds.
• The Beavers are 1-1 this season and 15-9 in one-run games going back to the start of the 2022 campaign.
