BABSON PARK, Mass. – Senior captain Catie Funk (Scarborough, Maine) blasted a two-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh to help the Babson College softball team complete a doubleheader sweep of visiting Lesley University at Alumni Field on Thursday afternoon. The Beavers earned a 9-1, five-inning victory in game one before Funk's heroics finished off a 4-2 win in game two.
Entering the day ranked third in New England by the NCAA, Babson (24-10) opened game one with a six-run first, highlighted by RBI-singles from first-year Caitie Benoit (Williamstown, Mass.) and sophomore Lindsey Schmid (New Canaan, Conn.) as well as a two-run single by first-year Maya Lacy (East Mill Creek, Utah). The Beavers then tacked on three more in the second, with senior Ashley Phelps (West Chester, Pa.), junior Christa Shorette (Southington, Conn.), and Lacy all hitting RBI-singles.
That was more than enough for junior starter Christina Miquel (Emerson, N.J.), who went all five innings and allowed just one run on four hits while striking out six. Her only blemish came in the fourth, when Lynx' junior Nicole Mercurio (Wakefield, Mass.) reached on an infield single and later scored on a base hit to right center by sophomore Jodee Doka (Sacramento, Calif.).
Lacy went 2-for-3 with three RBIs in game one for Babson, while Schmid and Phelps each finished with two hits, two runs scored, and one driven in.
Game two was close throughout, with Babson sophomore Meghan Hayes (Robbinsville, N.J.) and Lesley first-year Jordan Thomas (Fitchburg, Mass.) taking a scoreless pitchers' duel into the bottom of the fourth. The Beavers finally broke through in that frame, as Phelps singled and came all the way around to score on a double to left center by Shorette.
After pitching her way out of trouble each of the first four innings, Hayes finally ran out of steam in the fifth, issuing back-to-back walks to start the frame. Junior Tess Rubega (Norwich, Conn.) then came on and got the next batter on a sacrifice bunt, but after Babson failed to get an out on a fielder's choice grounder that loaded the bases, first-year Angela Mukai (Amherst, N.H.) tied the game with an RBI-single to right. Mercurio then lifted a sacrifice fly to right, scoring senior Emily Mangiaratti (Amherst, Mass.) to give the Lynx a 2-1 lead.
Babson pulled even in the bottom of the sixth, as Funk ripped a lead-off double to left center, moved to third on a deep fly out by Benoit, and scored on a laser off the shortstop's glove by Schmid. That set up Funk's walk-off shot in the bottom of the seventh, as she muscled an inside pitch over the fence in left, scoring senior Jackie Enos (Taunton, Mass.) ahead of her to finish off the 4-2 victory and the sweep.
Funk, Schmid, and Phelps each recorded two hits in the nightcap for Babson, while Rubega (4-0) pitched three innings of scoreless relief to earn the win. Mukai led all players with three hits in four at-bats for Lesley (15-17), while Doka chipped in with two hits in three trips to the plate.
The Lynx will be back at home on Saturday, April 20th when they host New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) for Becker College. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00p.