For Immediate Release
April 2, 2008
Courtesy Babson Sports Information
Wellesley Softball Splits With Cross-Town Rival Babson
Game One Box
Game Two Box
BABSON PARK, Mass. - Babson College senior pitcher Jess Byrn and Wellesley College junior hurler Beej Grundlock (Blackwood, N.J.) exchanged masterful two-hit shutouts as the host Beavers and the visiting Blue split a New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon.
With the split, Babson moved to 12-8 overall and 1-1 in the conference, while Wellesley, ranked 13th in the country in the most recent NFCA coaches poll, went to 11-4-1 overall and 4-2 in the NEWMAC.
Game one featured a magnificent duel between Byrn and Wellesley senior Jenna Harvey (London, Ontario), with an unearned run proving to be the difference in the contest. In the bottom of the first, Byrn hit a one-out single to left and moved to second on a fielding error off the bat of junior Kaitlyn Clark. Harvey would fan the next batter for the inning’s second out, but Babson rookie Jess Winer followed with a clutch RBI single to center, scoring Byrn with what would turn out to be the game’s only run.
Wellesley would have a runner reach third in each of the first three innings, but Byrn pitched her way out of trouble on each occasion. That would be all the offense the visitors would muster, as the Babson senior righty retired 15 straight batters to end the game. For the afternoon, Byrn allowed two hits – a leadoff single by first-year Alison Davis (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) in the second and a single by junior Amanda Tai (Melrose, Mass.) to start the third – while walking one and striking out four. The win was her fifth straight as she improved to 8-3 on the year.
Harvey (5-2) was brilliant in defeat for Wellesley, allowing one unearned run on three hits and three walks while striking out 10 in six innings of work. Clark would have the Beavers’ only hit after the first inning against the star righthander, as she lofted a wind-aided double to right center in the sixth.
Grundlock answered Byrn’s two-hit gem with one of her own in game two, as she stifled the Babson lineup with seven outstanding innings. The junior righthander gave up just two hits – a single up the middle by senior captain Jess Cohen (Pittsford, N.Y.) in the fourth and a single to shallow center by Byrn in the sixth – while walking three and striking out six. The shutout lowered her ERA to 0.66 and improved her record to a perfect 5-0 on the year.
Wellesley scored all the runs it would need in the top of the fourth, as senior Kara Wong (Milford, Mass.) laced a two-out double to deep center, scoring senior Meghan Sullivan (Markam, Ontario) and sophomore Alex Warren (Delta, British Columbia) with the first two runs of the game. Wong then tacked on two insurance runs with her second big hit of the game in the sixth, as she drove in Warren and Davis with a one-out single to center.
Sophomore Danielle Liska tossed five solid innings in defeat for Babson, as she fell to 3-4 on the year. The hard-throwing righthander allowed two runs on four hits, walked none and struck out three. First-year Caroline Barr came on in the sixth and threw two innings, giving up two unearned runs on two hits.
Babson will next face Smith College in a NEWMAC doubleheader on April 5th. Wellesley will host Roger Williams on friday afternoon at 3:30pm before continuing NEWMAC play on Saturday at Springfield.