SPRINGFIELD, Mass.—The Babson College softball team dropped both of ends of Saturday's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Potter Field.
The Beavers dropped the opener 8-0 in five innings and were defeated 10-2 in six innings by the Pride in game two. Babson closes the regular season at 19-21 overall and 11-9 in conference play, and will be the fourth seed in next week's conference tournament. Springfield, which will be the third seed in the tournament, finishes the regular season at 25-12 overall and 14-6 in the NEWMAC
Game 1: Springfield 8, Babson 0 (5 inn.)
Sophomores
Maddy DeLong (Cranford, N.J.) and
Samantha Skivo (Conshohocken, Pa.) each singled as the Beavers were limited to just five base runners in the loss. First-year
Anna Topel (Oak Park, Ill.) went the distance in the circle allowing six earned runs over 4.2 innings and is now 6-6 on the season.
Senior Carissa Pecchia (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) hit a three-run homer and finished with four RBI, while classmate Amelia DeRosa (Miller Place, N.Y.) was 2-for-3 with two RBI at the plate and struck out four in a complete-game shutout in the circle to improve to 15-5 with the victory for the Pride.
Springfield did nearly all of its damage in the bottom of the first as its first nine batters reached base on the way to scoring seven runs. Pecchia smashed a three-run homer to left center, sophomores Hayley Ball (Westbrook, Maine) and Brynlee Eckles (Ellington, Conn.) drew bases-loaded walks and two more runs scored when DeRosa reached on a two-out error to make it 7-0.
Game 2: Springfield 10, Babson 2 (6 inn.)
Senior
Sophia Pak (New Rochelle, N.Y.) went 2-for-3, classmate
Allie Cubberly (Lagrangeville, N.Y.) provided a two-run double and Skivo was 1-for-2 with a run scored for the Green and White. Junior
Katie Vlacich (Concord, N.H.) allowed five runs over 3.0 innings and dropped to 6-10 on the year with the loss.
Sophomore Reilly Hunter (Wallingford, Conn.) and senior Taylor Falotico (Windsor, Conn.) both singled twice and scored a pair of runs, and classmate Kate Katsetos (Brewster, N.Y.) had three RBI and DeRosa singled, walked twice and knocked in two to lead Springfield. Fellow senior Lily McCauliffe (Greenwich, N.Y.) tossed two shutout innings before handing the ball to sophomore Julia Rimshnick (Staten Island, N.Y.), who struck out two and gave up two runs over 4.0 innings to earn the win improving to 9-7 on the season.
The Pride raced out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first thanks to RBI singles by Pecchia and first-year Madison Testo (Keene, N.H.) and a bases-loaded walk to first-year Sammy Swords (Plano, Texas). Babson stranded four runners over the first three frames before cutting its deficit to 3-2 on a two-out, two-run double by Cubberly in the top of the fourth.
The Pride loaded the bases thanks to three straight walks and scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth, and then got two-run singles from DeRosa and Katsetos to make it 9-2 in the fifth.
Both teams will begin NEWMAC Tournament play on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. as Babson will face fifth-seeded Wellesley in Worcester, Mass., while Springfield host either sixth-seeded Wheaton or seventh-seeded Coast Guard.
GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are now 34-44 all-time against Springfield and have now dropped four of their last five road games in the series going back to 2024.
• Junior
Lexi Sealey (Pleasant Hill, Calif.) recorded her 16th double of the season in game two, which is tied for third on the program's single season list and the most by any Babson player since 2016.
• The Green and White has won at least 10 games in conference play in 11 consecutive seasons going back to 2016.
