Blue Softball Drops 5-2 Final To Babson in NEWMAC Opener

WORCESTER, Mass.—First-year Ashley Tango (Reading, Mass.) had a two-run double as part of a four-run second inning to help fourth-seeded Babson College defeat fifth-seeded Wellesley College, 5-2, in game one of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament on Friday afternoon at Rooftop Field.

With the win, Babson is now 27-13 overall and advances to face top-seeded WPI in game three  on Friday at 5:30 p.m.Wellesley drops to 16-17 on the year and will play take on either second-seeded MIT or third-seeded Wheaton in an elimination game on Saturday at 11 a.m. at WPI. 

Sophomore Samantha Smith (Hillsborough, N.J.) and first-year Annie Quine (Santa Monica, Calif.) both had two hits and drove in a run, while senior Rachel Bullard (Worcester, Mass.) went 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored for the Beavers. First-year Josephine Mares (Houston, Texas) also scored twice in support of sophomore Ali Reilly (New Canaan, Conn.), who allowed two runs on nine hits over seven innings to move to 17-8 on the year. 

Sophomore Julia Warner (Kenmore, Wash.) was 2-for-3 with an RBI double and a run scored to lead the Blue. First-year Veronica Locher (Walnut Creek, Calif.) was 1-for-3 with an RBI, while junior Ashtyn Coleman (Scottsdale, Ariz.) finished 1-for-3 with a run scored. Sophomore Madeline Bianchi (Lakeville, Minn.) went the distance in the circle giving up three earned runs on eight hits.

Mares singled and scored on a fielding error in the bottom of the first to give Babson a 1-0 lead. The Green and White sent nine batters to the plate in the second and took advantage of five hits to score four more runs. Bullard and Smith made it 3-0 with back-to-back RBI singles, and Tango followed with a two-out, two-run double down the right field line to give the Beavers a 5-0 advantage.

Wellesley got a pair of runs back in the top of the fourth as Warner doubled down the left field line to score Coleman, and Locher followed with a single to deep left, cutting the margin to 5-2. The Blue brought the potential tying run to the plate with two outs and runners on the corners in the fifth, but Reilly retired the side with a ground ball to second.

Courtesy Babson Athletic Communications