May 14, 2005
BABSON PARK, Mass. - Endicott College senior Elyse Colby (Manchester, N.H.) tripled in teammate Megan Young (Portland, Maine) with the game-winning run to cap off an amazing 5-4 victory over Babson College in the 2005 NCAA Division III Softball Tournament New England Regional at Babson this afternoon. Endicott (35-3-1) will now face Keene State College in an elimination game on Sunday morning at 9 a.m., with the winner of that contest facing Williams College in the championship game at 11 a.m. With the loss, Babson sees its magnificent season come to an end with a record of 38-8.
Babson broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth, as senior co-captain Kara Courtney (Northampton, Mass.) reached on an error and junior Meg Gaskell (Uxbridge, Mass.) followed with a two-run homer over the wall in left center. That lead lasted until the bottom of the fifth, when Endicott plated three runs to gain a 3-2 advantage. With the bases loaded and one out, first-year Paula McGinn (Lynn, Mass.) hit a slap single up the middle past the Beavers' drawn-in infield, scoring sophomore Nicole Reather (Riverton, Utah) to cut the Gulls' deficit to 2-1. Young then followed with a perfect fielder's choice bunt between the mound and the plate that allowed sophomore Laura Schack (Milford, Conn.) to come home with the tying run. Two batters later, first-year Rachel Pearson (Gales Ferry, Conn.) drew a bases-loaded walk to force in McGinn, giving Endicott a 3-2 edge.
Playing as the visiting team, Babson staged a rally in the top of the seventh inning, starting with a lead-off single to left by junior Erica Barry (Malden, Mass.). Senior co-captain Jamie Bowman (West Bridgewater, Mass.) then reached on a fielder's choice bunt which moved Barry to second, but Endicott recorded outs on the next two plays, cutting down Barry at third on a bunt back to Robyn Savitske at the mound and getting sophomore Darcy Lantz (Kingston, Pa.) on a grounder to Nicole Reather at second. With runners at second and third with two outs, the Beavers received a huge hit from sophomore Alex Lazar (Milton, Mass.), who ripped a two-run double down the left field line that put Babson in front 4-3.
In another dramatic rally, Endicott put the tying run on third when McGinn legged out a triple on a slap hit down the left field line with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Young followed with a bunt single which allowed McGinn to come home, tying the contest at 4-4. Babson sophomore Stacy Schlicht (Hillsborough, Calif.) then came on in relief of first-year starter Jess Byrn (Safety Harbor, Fla.), but was greeted harshly by Colby, who tripled to right center to drive in McGinn with the game-winning run.
Lazar and Gaskell each finished with two hits and two RBIs for Babson, while McGinn, Young and Reather had two hits apiece for Endicott. Gulls' sophomore Robyn Savitske (Hellertown, Pa.) pitched her second complete game of the day, allowing just three earned runs on seven hits to improve her record to 23-1. Byrn took the loss to fall to 7-3.
Most portions of story courtesy of Babson Sports Information Office
