CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - For the third straight year, and the fourth overall, the MIT softball team is NEWMAC Tournament Champions as the Engineers defeated Babson, 7-3, in the Championship game on Sunday afternoon on Briggs Field as MIT earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
First year Maggie Feng (Brookfield, Wis.) was named the tournament's most outstanding player.
THE BASICS:
- Score: MIT 7, Babson 3
- Records: MIT (28-10 Overall), Babson (25-14)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- MIT jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first. First year Layla Thiessen (Carlsbad, Calif.) led off with a triple and senior Mikayla Cable (Valrico, Fla.) followed with a walk. Cable then stole second and the throw went into the outfield to allow Thiessen to score and Cable to get to third where she scored on a sac fly by classmate Mackenzie Bivin (San Diego, Calif.).
- Sarah Moore (Kennett Square, Pa.) tied the game in the second with a two-out double to left-center.
- First years Delaney Benevides (Plainville, Mass.) and Thiessen put together back-to-back singles and steals to get into scoring position. Ava Ladd (Austin, Texas) knocked them in with a single to regain the lead for the Engineers.
- The Beavers got a run back in the third on a two-out RBI single from Charlotte Raymond (Wrentham, Mass.).
- Senior Kennedy Adkison (San Jose, Calif.) worked a walk to lead off the third and scored the fifth Engineer run on a Feng double. Benevides followed with a single to score Feng to make it a 6-3 MIT lead.
- Maddy DeLong (Cranford, N.J.) led off the fourth with a single but junior Caroline Langmeyer (Upper Arlington, Ohio) got the next batter swinging for the first out. Moore then reached first on a fielding error, but DeLong was thrown out trying to go to third on a relay from Adkison to Ladd. Moore was then picked off first to end the inning.
- Adkison tacked on an insurance run for the Engineers with an RBI single in the fourth to score Bivin and make it 7-3.
- Langmeyer retired Babson in order in both the sixth and seventh innings as Athena Hadjipanayis (Rye, N.Y.) flew out to Adkison to give MIT its third-straight NEWMAC Championship.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- MIT will make its eighth NCAA Appearance, as the team has made six-straight tournament appearances.
- Feng finished the day 1-3 with an RBI. Thiessen went 3-4 from the leadoff spot with a stolen base and two runs scored.
- Benevides finished 2-3 with a run, RBI, and stolen base.
- Langmeyer tossed all seven innings to earn her 17th win of the season. She gave up three runs on seven hits with two walks and a strikeout.
UP NEXT:
- The Engineers will learn their next opponent in the NCAA Tournament and location when the bracket is released tomorrow, Monday May 12th at 11:00 AM on NCAA.com.
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