By Nick Pantages
@nick_pantages22
Finding itself down 2-1 heading into the bottom half of the fourth inning, the Springfield College softball team needed to rally in the second contest of their doubleheader against Babson to preserve its unblemished NEWMAC record.
The Pride opened the scoring, with a Michaela Ponticello fielder’s choice driving in Amelia DeRosa, but Babson responded in the next frame with a leadoff triple and an RBI groundout to even it up. In the top half of the fourth, Babson’s leadoff hitter singled and was advanced by a pair of sacrifice bunts, and with an error mixed in she went on to score, giving the Beavers their first lead of the day.
But despite trailing on the scoreboard, the Pride were not fazed at all. Breannah McCann led it off with a single up the middle, and her pinch runner Sarah Falcone advanced via a sacrifice bunt. Alli Olsen tied it up with a single to score Falcone, but they were not done.
After Olsen advanced to third after a throwing error and a wild pitch, DeRosa was intentionally walked, bringing up Emily Whalen. Whalen slapped a single past the second baseman to score Olsen, and the next batter, Carissa Pecchia, brought DeRosa in with a scorching single to left field. Callie Gendron drove in DeRosa with a sacrifice fly to right field to bring the Pride’s fourth inning run total to four, giving them a 5-2 lead, which was one they would not relinquish.
“This team, we have so much fight,” head coach Kate Bowen said. “We know we have to play a full 14 innings for the doubleheader and take it inning by inning.”
Starting pitcher Ashley Pugliese kept Babson off the board for the rest of the game, which gave the Pride two more wins and a perfect 4-0 record in NEWMAC play, improving their overall record to 15-2-1.
The Pride took the first game by a score of 9-1 in an abbreviated six inning game due to the slaughter rule.
The game got off to a slow start, with Breannah McCann driving in Ponticello in the second inning to take an early lead.
However, after Babson evened the score in the top of the fourth, similarly to the first game, the Pride took over. They loaded the bases, before Gendron cleared them with an RBI double, and she was driven in by Ava Rainone. All of the runs came with two outs, something that Bowen enjoyed.
“We talk about doing your job, and I think everyone has, everyone knows what they need to do and the approach they need to have, and that’s what we do today,” Bowen said.
Springfield scored another three in the fifth, with two of those coming after a Pecchia single. DeRosa hit a double to score Olsen in the sixth, ending the game.
Both starting pitchers, DeRosa and Pugliese, allowed a combined 16 baserunners, but allowed just three runs. Part of that was a handful of exceptional defensive plays, but both pitchers’ abilities to lock in with runners on was instrumental to their victory.
“Their mental toughness has been great on the mound and they know what they need to do, and they’ve been so successful,” Bowen said.
Although they committed two errors, the Pride’s defense kept them in the games at times today.
Multiple times the pitchers conceded hard contact, but whether it was diving plays in the infield or not preventing runners turning singles to doubles, the defense held the Beavers in check. And when they did reach base, they had to worry about Gendron behind the dish.
The Beavers attempted five steals, and Gendron threw out four of those runners, eliminating a number of threats on the basepaths.
“We knew coming in that they were leading the NEWMAC in stolen bases, and Callie came in and shut them down,” Bowen said.
It will be a quick turnaround for Springfield, as they are back in action at noon tomorrow to take on Wellesley in another NEWMAC double header.
Photo courtesy of Springfield Athletics.