NEWMAC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT - CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Gaskell Pitches Babson To Second Straight NEWMAC Championship

BABSON PARK, MASS. – Senior co-captain Meghan Gaskell (Uxbridge, Mass.) tossed her sixth shutout of the season to lead top-seeded Babson College to a 2-0 win over fifth-seeded Springfield College in the championship game of the 2006 NEWMAC Softball Tournament on Sunday afternoon. With the victory, Babson (33-10) claims its second straight NEWMAC Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

After Springfield (24-20) defeated Babson, 3-2, in 10 innings earlier in the day to force a decisive final game, Gaskell and Pride first-year starter Samantha Rhodes (Mendon, Mass.) both turned in gutsy performances for their respective teams. Rhodes returned to the hill after throwing all 10 innings of the previous contest, while Gaskell came back after pitching the final four innings. Both hurlers did a magnificent job of keeping opposing hitters off balance in the championship tilt, as they traded zeros for the first four innings.

Playing as the visiting team, Babson finally broke through against Rhodes in the top of the fifth, as junior Robyn Woodruff (Clifton, N.J.) hit a one-out single to left and sophomore Jess Byrn (Safety Harbor, Fla.) followed with a base hit to right. Rhodes then fanned the next hitter for the inning’s second out, but, after a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position, junior Andrea Cartullo (Holbrook, Mass.) smacked a single to left, plating Woodruff with the game’s first run. Senior co-captain Erica Barry (Malden, Mass.) made it 2-0 moments later when she beat out an infield hit to short that scored Byrn from third.

That would be more than enough for Gaskell, who punctuated her spectacular senior season with a six-hit shutout. She issued one walk and struck out three in the win, which improved her season record to 17-4. After throwing 57 pitches in the previous contest, the veteran right-hander came back to throw 90 more in the title game, 64 of which were strikes. The shutout was the 17th of her career, while the win was her 48th. Both are Babson records.

Overshadowed by the Beavers’ victory was a remarkable pitching effort by Rhodes, who suffered the defeat to fall to 10-5. After allowing no earned runs on 89 pitches in the Pride’s earlier win, the rookie southpaw gave up just two runs on nine hits on 74 pitches in her second straight game on the hill. The two runs surrendered in the fifth snapped a streak of 21 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run in the tourney.