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.  
 
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. 

MIT will make its eighth NCAA Appearance, as the team has made six-straight tournament appearances. 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.  

About the NEWMAC

The NEWMAC is an association of 12 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with four Associate Members: Norwich University (football), Simmons College (rowing), SUNY Maritime College (football), and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (football), while sponsoring 20 sports.