Capetta celebrated on Senior Day; O'Reilly no-hits Seahawks twice

NEWPORT, R.I. (Saturday, April 27, 2024) - On a sunny and breezy Saturday afternoon, Salve Regina University softball celebrated its senior Maddie Capetta (Raritan, N.J.) in a pre-game ceremony, along with honoring the senior members of the visiting Beavers of Babson College.

One of the visiting seniors - left-handed pitcher Moira O'Reilly (Columbus, Ohio) - celebrated two complete-game no-hitters while blanking the Seahawks (4-0 and 10-0) over a dozen innings in the circle. O'Reilly struck out 14 in the opener and had four more Ks in the five-inning nightcap while issuing one free pass in both games. She faced the minimum 15 in the nightcap as her first-inning base on balls to Emily Lane (Tinton Falls, N.J.) got erased on a caught stealing. In the opener, O'Reilly struck out the first seven batters of the game before walking outfielder Emily Moskal (Southington, Conn.) who was the first player on either team to reach second base safely when Katie Ramos (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) followed with the sacrifice bunt. Ramos was the first Seahawk to put a ball in play.

Salve Regina sophomore Caroline Peterson (Halifax, Mass.) matched O'Reilly with zeroes on the scoreboard through four innings until Molly Hennessy (Tallahassee, Fla.) singled with one out in the fifth. Pinch-runner Allie Cubberly (Lagrangeville, N.Y.) advanced to second on a Kate Karamouzis (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) single. Cassidy Musco (Walpole, Mass.) walked to load the bases and Jackie Paglieri's (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) poke up the middle deflected off Peterson and second baseman Olivia Saccoccio (Coventry, R.I.) converted it into an RBI ground out.

After scoring two unearned runs in the sixth, Babson got its fourth run in the seventh when Paglieri walked and stole second before coming home on Sara Moore's (Kennett Square, Pa.) single up the middle.

Babson (20-15, 9-7 NEWMAC) scored three times in the first inning of game two off starter Alex Kelly (East Meadow, N.Y.). Hennessy had a two-run single with the bases loaded while left fielder Emily Cronin (Coventry, R.I.) was able to cut down a runner with a throw to third baseman Kylie Lanteri (Berlin, Conn.). Kelly stranded a leadoff single in the second inning at second base but the Beavers added two runs in the third with RBI from Hennessy (single) and Karamouzis (double).

Reliever Sophia Gendron (Oxford, Conn.), who appeared in both games, struck out the first Beaver she faced in game two to end the top of the third. 

With the bases loaded in the fourth, Saccoccio made a fine running catch going towards center field while Moore tagged up from third for a 6-0 lead. Athena Hadjipanayis (Rye, N.Y.) followed with a two-run ground-rule double to left center. Michaela Russell's (Boston, Mass.) two-run double to center capped the scoring in the fifth inning. Reliever Shea Murphy (Westfield, N.J.) got the final two outs in the fifth on infield grounders including one to shortstop Sam Franceschi (East Haven, Conn.). O'Reilly struck out the last Seahawk looking at a 3-2 pitch.

Salve Regina (12-22, 5-13 NEWMAC) falls out of contention for a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference postseason spot with a twinbill remaining at first-place Springfield College next Saturday.