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KERRVILLE, Texas— Junior Moira O'Reilly (Columbus, Ohio) allowed just one run with 15 strikeouts while knocking in three at the plate and hitting a home run in her first career at bat as No. 20 Babson College opened its softball season with a non-conference split at Schreiner University on Friday afternoon.

The Beavers won the opener 7-1 and the Mountaineers came back with an 11-8 verdict in game two. Babson starts the campaign at 1-1 while Schreiner snapped a five-game losing skid and is now 3-7.

Game 1 – Babson 7, Schreiner 1 O'Reilly allowed just one run on seven hits in a complete-game effort for the Beavers. Seniors Lexi Morris (Lexington, Mass.) and Kate Karamouzis (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) had two hits apiece and also clubbed home runs to lead a 12-hit Beaver attack, while sophomore Sara Moore (Kennett Square, Pa.) and junior Molly Hennessy (Tallahassee, Fla.) each had two hits.

Senior Malorie Solis (El Campo, Texas) had three hits and scored a run to pace the Mountaineers, while classmate Danielle Pedraza (San Antonio, Texas) contributed a double and an RBI in the setback.

After Schreiner scored a run in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly by Pedraza, the Beavers jumped on top with a pair of runs in the top if the second. Junior Caroline Taylor (Biddeford, Maine) hit a two-out single and O'Reilly followed with a two-run home run in her first career at bat.

The Beavers plated three more runs in the third inning to extend their lead to 5-0. After Karamouzis belted a two-out solo home run, Hennessy hit a double and first-year Sophia Pak (New Rochelle, N.Y.) walked to set the stage for an RBI double by first-year Sophia Bianco (Pasadena, Md.). Taylor and O'Reilly drew back-to-back walks to bring in another run to cap the three-run rally.

Two more runs in the fourth inning pushed the margin to 7-0. Morris led off the inning with a solo home run, Karamouzis reached on a one-out single and later scored on Pak's RBI single.

After O'Reilly got through the first inning, she allowed just three hits over the next five innings to earn the win. Sophomore Alyssa DeStefano (Ridgefield, Conn.) struck out two batters in a scoreless seventh inning to close out the win.

Game 2 – Schreiner 13, Babson 8 Morris had a double among her three hits in the nightcap for the Beavers, and Karamouzis added a pair of hits and a walk in the eight-hit attack. DeStefano, Taylor and Bianco also smacked doubles in the setback and Hennessy knocked in two runs.

Senior Hannah Kollmansberger (Spring Branch, Texas) had three hits, including a double, and knocked in three. Pedraza had two doubles and drove in three runs, and Solis went 3-for-3 with a double and four runs scored. Junior Yadira Lopez (Kingsville, Texas) and first-year Kendall Lippold (Richmond, Texas) also had two hits each with Lopez driving in two.

After Morris doubled and later scored on a wild pitch in the Beavers' first inning, Schreiner plated four runs in the bottom half of the inning, led by RBI doubles from Pedraza and Kollmansberger. Babson got one back in the top of the second when Taylor doubled and scored on an infield error, but the Mountaineers picked up three more in the bottom of the second, including RBI singles by Kollmansberger and senior Rebecca Gownley (Houston, Texas).

Babson scored a single run for the third straight inning when Hennessy scored on Taylor's sacrifice fly, but Schreiner answered with three more in the bottom half of the inning to extend the lead to 10-3. Lippold and Pedraza cracked RBI doubles in the rally and Kollmansberger followed with a run-scoring single.

The Beavers cut the deficit to 10-6 with a three-spot in the fourth inning, highlighted by the first career RBI single by first-year Allie Cubberly (Lagrangeville, N.Y.) and Hennessy's RBI fielder's choice. Schreiner got the lead back to seven runs with a single run in bottom of the fourth and two more in the last of the fifth.

The Green and White tacked on single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to round out the scoring. Pak delivered an RBI single in the sixth and Hennessy hit a sac fly in the seventh.

Four different pitchers made an appearance for the Beavers, with junior Nicole Sestito (Sea Girt, N.J.) starting and taking the loss.

Babson is back in action on Saturday with a doubleheader at No. 4 Texas Lutheran, beginning at 2 p.m. ET.

GAME NOTES • Babson now has a 3-1 record in the career series against Schreiner that started in 2022. • O'Reilly has allowed just one run and seven hits in 11 career innings against the Mountaineers after pitching a five-inning no-hitter in last year's game one of the doubleheader. • The Beavers have won three of their last four season-openers and 13 of their last 17 going back to 2007.

RIDGEFIELD PARK — Seven years after the state Department of Education assigned a monitor to oversee the Board of Education's finances and personnel decisions, it announced that a new monitor will be appointed to the district on Oct. 1.

Scott Henry, director of the state department's Office of Fiscal Policy and Planning, made the announcement at the board's meeting Wednesday.

"The commissioner of education has seen fit to review the state auditor assignments," Henry said. "In an effort to better align state auditor skill sets and experience with district needs, a decision has been made to reassign Wayne Demikoff to the Lyndhurst Board of Education, and reassign Thomas Egan to the Ridgefield Park Board of Education effective Oct. 1, 2022."

Henry did not say what skill sets would better align with the district's needs, nor did he say whether the district's monitoring was about to end.

Resident Janet Malool raised concerns during the public comment section of the meeting.

"I am personally sad to see they are pulling Mr. Demikoff, because I think he worked very hard," Malool said. "I think when you switch people mid-term before something is fixed, I don't know, I have my doubts."

New issue

Demikoff was initially assigned to the district in 2015 after the board allegedly overspent its budget by $2.5 million. The board was then charged in 2017 with violating three state laws when it entered into lease and loan agreements with St. Francis of Assisi Church to open the Thomas Jefferson Early Learning Center.

The board was sued in July 2021 by Superintendent Angela Bender after she was suspended with pay in June 2021 for the remaining two years of her four-year contract following a "no confidence vote" by the board.

BENDER SUSPENDED:Calls Ridgefield Park Board of Education misogynistic 'boys club'

"With regard to the legal fees that resulted from the action taken by the board, more specifically the pending litigation with Dr. Bender, the total fees remain $89,990.65 as of Sept. 21, 2022," Demikoff told the board Wednesday.

Demikoff did not mention the anticipated costs to be associated with a second suit filed against the district on Aug. 5.

In that suit, middle school Principal Dyan Thiemann is accusing Barry Haines, named acting superintendent when Bender was suspended in June 2021, and the Board of Education of "illegal discrimination" for attempting to demote her after she testified to the board's attorneys in March about her interactions with Bender.

Thiemann's suit, filed in state Superior Court in Bergen County, said the board's attorneys "pressured plaintiff to make false and disparaging statements about Dr. Bender" during the interview, and told her after the meeting that her statements would be "shared with Defendant Haines."

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Haines subsequently notified Thiemann in April that she was being demoted, according to the nine-page suit. The Board of Education subsequently voted to retain Thiemann in her principal post. On Haines' recommendation, Demikoff overturned the board's ruling. Thiemann was reassigned to a coordinator post in May but is still listed as principal on the district's website.

School board President Jorge Fernandez and Haines could not be immediately reached for comment.

RIDGEFIELD PARK — The first stop on Ridgefield Park’s “B-line” was a victorious one.

Senior quarterback Brevin Cooney accounted for 409 of the Scarlets’ 439 offensive yards in leading them past Demarest, 47-44, in the teams’ Super Football Conference opener Thursday.

Each signal-caller had a hand in six touchdowns. Cooney passed for four and ran for two, while Norseman senior Dan Argenziano threw for five and rushed for another.

In the end, the advantage went to the four-year starter.

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“It’s like a subway train – we ride the B-line, that’s the Brevin line,” Ridgefield Park coach Chris Rapp said. “It’s what we’ve got to do sometimes when games get tough. He’s the best leader I’ve ever seen, and it does make us feel way more comfortable having him.”

Cooney spread around passes to four different receivers, including senior Jeremy Chocoj (6 catches, 131 yards, 2 TDs).

“This receiving crew really stepped it up,” Cooney said. “Jeremy was playing soccer freshman year, and now he’s catching 70-yard hitches, making me look good.”

What it means

Since it was a cross-divisional game, both teams still can look forward to contending for division titles.

Demarest (0-1) installed an up-tempo offense that first-year coach Nick Guttuso and his staff brought over from Ramapo. Several Raider players were there to cheer on their former assistant, whose team scored on the opening drive but needed some time to find its footing afterward.

“They’re picking it up, and they’re working extremely hard,” Guttuso said of the Norsemen. “To be down by three scores, then come back and show the grit and determination and the fight that they did – we had every opportunity to win the game.”

Key (non-scoring) play

After Demarest used Argenziano’s third TD pass to Chris Short (seven catches, 189 yards) to cut it to three with 4:39 left, Ridgefield Park (1-0) mounted an eight-play drive to drain the clock.

Facing 4th-and-13 from the Norsemen 45 with fewer than 90 seconds remaining, Cooney rolled out to his right and found Chocoj over the middle for a 15-yard gain. The QB leapt up and pointed for a first down as his momentum took him out of bounds.

“Coach [Vincent] Cuozzo, our first-year offensive coordinator, he drew up the play,” Cooney said. “I liked it, and [Jeremy] and I have a great connection, great trust.”

By the numbers

916: Combined offensive yards in the game, with Demarest generating 477.

3: Takeaways by the Ridgefield Park defense – two fumble recoveries and an interception by Kashawn Wallace

1: Special teams score, posted when Demarest’s Danny Bettinardi blocked a punt, and Jude Baez tackled the Scarlets’ recovery man for a safety.

Game balls

? Cooney completed 23-of-34 passes for 303 yards and carried 13 times for 106.

? Argenziano completed 9-of-19 passes for 231 yards and ran 22 times for 72.

? If any defensive player earned one, it was Scarlets lineman Derek Martinez, who tallied 10 tackles, one of his team’s three sacks, a fumble recovery and a QB hurry.

They said it

“They gave us a challenge on defense. Fortunately, on offense, we can put up points, but from week to week, we’re going to have to really game plan for a very tough schedule.” — Cooney

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RIDGEFIELD — A Norway Maple tree is considered one of the largest in the nation — and local officials want to protect it as much as possible.

A Norway maple located behind the Ridgefield Guild of Artists on Halpin Lane was designated the state champion last year, and is believed to be one of the biggest trees in the country, behind a Norway Maple in New Jersey.

Trees are measured using a point system that accounts for a combination of height, trunk circumference and branch spread, said Frank Kaputa, an official state tree measurer.

Ridgefield's Norway maple was measured at 291 points — it's 77 feet tall, with a trunk circumference of 190 inches and an average branch spread of 96 feet.

Previously, a tree in Suffield was state champion and a tree in Montana was national champion. Suffield's tree is measured at 287 points, while the Montana tree is 288 points.

The Suffield tree, which was previously the state champion at 303 points, dropped in points to 287, due to "decline," Kaputa said.

"I went down (to Suffield) last year and I remeasured it," said Kaputa, a Glastonbury resident. Kaputa is the official measurer of the Connecticut Notable Trees Project. Kaputa said he has been involved with the measuring of trees for about 20 years. Kaputa estimates Ridgefield's Norway maple to be over 100 years old.

The Montana tree was listed on American Forests, the National Tree Registry, while the Suffield tree is listed on Connecticut Notable Trees Project, a state registry. American Forests has not kept records of champion trees since 2021, but the Ridgefield tree ranks higher than the trees listed in that year, Kaputa said.

Hearst Connecticut Media learned a Norway Maple in Stanhope, N.J. ranks larger than the Ridgefield tree. The New Jersey Norway Maple has 323 points, a circumference of 194 inches, a height of 103 feet, and a crown of 102 feet. It is ranked as state champion by the NJ Big & Heritage Tree Dept. of the New Jersey Forest Service within the Department of Environmental Protection.

Protecting the tree

The town said it will be protecting its champion Norway maple because cars park too close to the Norway maple.

Pound Ridge, N.Y. resident John Kelly, a tree enthusiast who spotted the Norway maple while viewing artwork at the Guild and then researched its size, said he's concerned cars are damaging the soil.

"Norway maples are shallow-rooted. Most of the roots are within 18 inches of the surface. So every time a car parks (near the maple), the car compacts the soil even further. The tree gets its water and its nutrients from that soil," he said, adding that there's gravel and broken pieces of asphalt in the soil by the tree.

Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi agreed.

"Technically, with any tree, you should not disturb the soil within the dripline," or the area directly located under the outer circumference of the tree branches, Marconi said. "Cars park right near the tree and what you don't want to do is disrupt the root structure."

While the town had planned to put in a new parking lot at Halpin Lane, which would help preserve the tree, it was ever done.

"That master plan was never implemented," Marconi said, due to lack of funds.

"We would still like to do it. We have applied for grants and we'll probably do so in the near future next year," he said.

Prior to paving, the town would install catch basins to collect water and lay down topsoil in the area to protect the tree, he said.

He said he still hopes to eventually pave the front of the Guild of Artists to the volunteer fire department building.

However, the town is preparing to rope the area off, put in curbs and plant grass.

"That will discontinue the travel area in close proximity to the tree," Marconi said.

The town will perform the work next month, when it is warmer, he said.

'A real honor'

It's a "real honor" for a town to have a champion tree, and the town should do everything in its means to protect it, Kaputa said.

"You can take pride in this," he said. "Whether it's in the woods or on their front lawn, people should really take a lot of pride in that."

Rigdgefield's Norway maple is "beautiful," Kaputa added.

"It's a full a tree with a big trunk and large branches spreading out," he said, "and it should be protected. You've got something special in town."

Correction: An original version of this article incorrectly reported the Ridgefield Norway Maple tree's national ranking. Ridgefield's Norway Maple ranks as the largest tree in Connecticut, but is smaller than a Norway Maple in Stanhope, N.J.

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