Babson Softball Tops Wheaton, Wins First-Ever NEWMAC Championship

NORTHAMPTON, MASS. – The Babson College softball team continued its dream season with another program milestone on Sunday, as the second-seeded Beavers defeated top-seeded Smith College and third-seeded Wheaton College to claim its first-ever New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament Championship. With the title, Babson (37-6, ranked 21st in the nation by the NFCA) also earned its first-ever bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament, which will begin with the New England Regional Championships on May 13, 14, and 15 at a site to be determined.

The Beavers began their Sunday with a huge 1-0 victory over top-seeded Smith, as pitcher Meg Gaskell (Uxbridge, Mass.) fired her team-leading sixth shutout of the season. The junior right-hander scattered four hits over seven innings, walking none and striking out two, to improve to 13-1 overall. The Babson offense provided her with the game’s only run in the top of the fifth, as junior catcher Erica Barry (Malden, Mass.) doubled to left and scored on a base hit by senior co-captain Jamie Bowman (West Bridgewater, Mass.). Smith’s best chance to score came with runners at second and third in the bottom of the inning, but Gaskell induced a pop-up to end the threat and preserve the shutout.

After defending-NEWMAC champion Wheaton handed Smith its second loss, 8-3, in an elimination game, the undefeated Beavers had a chance to oust the Lyons for the championship. However, Wheaton edged the Beavers, 3-1, as junior Amy Rowbottom outdueled Babson sophomore Stacy Schlicht (Hillsborough, Calif.) to force a decisive final game. Barry had two more hits in that contest, giving her four for the day.

In the third game of the day for the Beavers and fourth for the Lyons, Wheaton took a 1-0 lead with a leadoff triple and a two-out single against Gaskell in the bottom of the second inning. However, Babson came right back with two runs in the top of the third, as Barry and Bowman recorded back-to-back singles with one out. After Wheaton starter Audrey Poulton induced a fly ball for the inning’s second out, Barry came all the way around from second on an infield hit by sophomore Darcy Lantz (Kingston, Pa.) to tie the game at 1-1. A wild pitch then moved both runners into scoring position, and an error by the third baseman allowed Bowman to come home with the go-ahead run.

The Beavers added to their lead in the top of the fourth, scoring twice against Rowbottom, who came on in relief of Poulton to start the inning. Babson once again did all of its damage with two outs, as the Wheaton second baseman committed a three-base error on a pop-up by Barry that allowed first-year Jess Byrn (Safety Harbor, Fla.) to score from third. Bowman then drew a walk to put runners at the corners, and sophomore Andrea Cartullo (Holbrook, Mass.) followed with a clutch base hit to left that pushed Babson’s lead to 4-1.

Wheaton got one run back on a pair of doubles in the bottom of the fourth inning, but Babson extended its lead back to three when Barry doubled and scored on a two-bagger by Cartullo in the top of the sixth. It was Barry’s sixth hit of the day in eight at-bats, as the Beavers built a 5-2 advantage.

The Lyons refused to go quietly in the bottom of the seventh, as Sarah Malloy led off with a double and scored on a single by Maggie Spaziano to make it 5-3. Gaskell then induced a grounder to second for the inning’s first out, but senior Jessica Foster followed with a single and advanced to second on the throw to third, putting two runners in scoring position. Lantz then made a fantastic play in the hole to get sophomore Keely Nowosacki by half a step at first for the second out, but Foster moved to third and Spaziano came home on the play to bring Wheaton to within one at 5-4.

With the tying run 60 feet away, Wheaton’s third hitter, first-year Erika Marini, stepped in representing the potential winning run. However, facing her 59th batter of the day, Gaskell induced a routine grounder to third, where Bowman scooped it up and fired across the diamond to fellow senior co-captain Kara Courtney (Northampton, Mass.) for the game’s final out. It was only the second time in the NEWMAC’s seven-year history that Wheaton failed to win the tournament, and it marked Babson’s first conference title in the 19-year history of the program.

For the day, Barry went 6-for-8 with four runs scored, while Bryn added four hits, one run scored, and one RBI. Gaskell picked up both victories on the mound to improve her season mark to 14-1, setting a new Babson single-season record for victories. Program great Colleen Kelly ’04 held the previous mark of 13 wins, which she set in 2001 and then again in 2002.

Having already set a new Babson record across all sports with 37 wins, the softball team will now compete in the NCAA Regional Championships, which will feature either five or six teams. The winner of the regionals then advances to the NCAA Division III National Championships held in Raleigh, North Carolina on May 20-24.