WINTER HAVEN, Fla.—Senior Moira O'Reilly (Columbus, Ohio) struck out 16 in an extra-inning loss and graduate student Cassidy Musco (Walpole, Mass.) finished the day with five hits but the Babson College softball team suffered a pair of shutout losses on Saturday evening. 

The Beavers suffered 1-0 nine-inning setback to the University of Chicago in their opening game of the day before falling to No. 11 Bethel University, 4-0, in the nightcap. Babson has dropped four straight games to fall to 1-6 on the year. 

Chicago 1, Babson 0 (9 innings)
O'Reilly was superb in the circle allowing just four hits to go along with her 16 strikeouts but suffered the hard-luck loss to fall to 0-4 on the year. Musco went 2-for-4 at the plate with two stolen bases, while junior Sara Moore (Kennett Square, Pa.) singled, walked and swiped a pair of bags for Babson, which stranded 11 runners on base. 

Junior Paige Heffke (North Royalton, Ohio) struck out six and scattered six hits in a complete-game effort for the Maroons to improve to 2-1 on the year. 

O'Reilly worked around a leadoff double by first-year Mia Bocian (Lawrenceville, N.J.) in the second and recorded back-to-back strikeouts with the potential go-ahead run on second in the top of the sixth. The Beavers left runners on second in the third in the bottom of the second and had a chance to win the game in the last of the eighth only to see first-year Natalie Antin (Los Angeles, Calif.) gun down junior Athena Hadjipanayis (Rye, N.Y.) at the plate to complete an inning-ending double play. 

Chicago (4-1) finally broke the deadlock in the top of the ninth and sophomore Madeline Murphy (Walnut Creek, Calif.) went the other way to drop a single down just inside the right field line bringing Antin home from third for the only run of the game. Babson loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the inning but Heffke got a force out at the plate with a soft comebacker and then induced a pop up to second to end the game. 

Bethel 4, Babson 0
Musco went 3-for-3 with a stolen base and Moore and first-year Ruby Madia (Princeton Junction, N.J.) both singled for the Green and White. First-year Katie Vlacich (Concord, N.H.) gave up three earned runs on five hits while striking out four and walking three in 6.0 innings to drop to 1-2 on the season with the loss. 

Sophomore Sidney Bartels (Ellsworth, Wis.) went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored and first-year Abby Otterness (Mayer, Minn.) doubled and scored to lead the Royals' offense. First-year Mary Hajduk (Bloomington, Minn.) worked into the seventh inning to earn her first win of the year, allowing just four hits while striking out one and walking two. 

The Beavers stranded runners on the corners in the top of the first and Bethel (5-1) went ahead in the bottom of the frame when junior Autumn Earney (Ellsworth, Wis.) reached with a leadoff single and later scored on a wild pitch. Vlacich had retired eight straight batters before running into trouble in the fourth, beginning with a leadoff walk to graduate student Kayla Hokanson (Shakopee, Minn.). 

Bartels made it 2-0 with an RBI single, Girard followed with a base hit to bring home Otterness and Bartels later scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-0. Hajduk issued a leadoff walk to Hadjipanayis to start the top of the seventh but senior Kayla Simacek (Hastings, Minn.) came on and recorded the final three outs to complete the shutout.

Babson returns to action on Sunday when it takes on SUNY Geneseo at 9 a.m. and Hamilton at 1:30 p.m. in Clermont, Fla. 

GAME NOTES
•    The Beavers are now 1-2 all-time against Chicago and 6-1 versus Bethel, although Saturday's meeting was the first since 2013. 
•    Babson has been tied going to the seventh inning in four of its first seven games this season and has dropped a pair of extra-inning contests. 
•    Madia has a hit in five consecutive games, while Moore has reached base in four straight contests.