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Box Score 2 BABSON PARK, Mass.—Eight different players had at least two hits and drove in a run as part of a 26-hit attack, helping Babson College complete a doubleheader sweep of visiting Emerson College with a 17-4 victory in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) baseball action on Saturday afternoon at Govoni Field.
The Beavers, who won the opening game of the twin bill 3-1, swept the three-game series between the two teams to move to 14-15 overall and 10-6 in league play, while also locking up a spot in next week's conference tournament. The Lions fall to 1-23 overall and 1-2 in the NEWMAC.
After trading zeros over the first five and a half innings of the opener, the Green and White took the lead with an unearned run in the last of the sixth. Sophomore Jake Weiss (Irvine, Calif.) singled to center, stole second and advanced to third on a ground out before racing home on a passed ball with two outs for a 1-0 lead.
Babson extended its lead an inning later as sophomore Jack Halpin (Glastonbury, Conn.) walked and stole second and third before scoring on a throwing error. Emerson responded with a run in the top of the eighth though, as Steven Cameron(Landsdale, Pa.) led off with a double and later scored on an RBI single by sophomore Mitch Moormann (Hollywood, Fla.) to make it 2-1.
The Beavers added an insurance run in the bottom of the frame, again with Weiss as the catalyst. He singled with one out and swiped second and third before first-year Adam Ayala (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) drove him in with a sacrifice fly to left for a 3-1 edge. Beavers' junior Nick Ahearn (Norforlk, Mass.) retired the side in order to record his second complete game of the year.
Ahearn (3-2) allowed just the one earned run and scattered eight hits while striking out six and walking none. Weiss went 2-for-4 with three stolen bases and two runs scored, while Halpin went 1-for-2 with a walk and a career-high three stolen bases for the Green and White.
Sophomore Cal Laird (Willowbrook, Ill.) went the distance for the Lions, giving up two earned runs on just four hits while striking out six. Cameron was 3-for-3 with three doubles, while senior Zach Dean (Vero Beach, Fla.) added two hits, including a double of his own.
Babson dominated game two from the start, building a 5-0 first-inning lead. Senior Dillon Gonzalez (Beverly, Mass.) started the rally with an infield single to score Weiss, and classmate Sean MacPhee (Framingham, Mass.) drove in a pair with one-out knock down the right field line. Sophomore Owen Shea (Northborough, Mass.) made it four-run game with a sacrifice fly, and senior Rob Caggiano (Medford, Mass.) put the Beavers up 5-0 with a two-out single up the middle.
MacPhee plated a pair of runs with an infield single in the second, and Weiss made it 8-0 with an RBI ground out in third. Junior Malcom Kelner (Minnetonka, Minn.) and classmate Jim Cain (Wakefield, Mass.) scored on a wild pitch and an error in the top of the fifth to cut the Emerson deficit to 8-2, but Babson responded with seven runs on seven hits in the bottom of the frame.
First-year Ryan Arena (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) led off with a double, Weiss and Ayala each followed with RBI doubles, and Gonzalez came through with a run scoring triple to center as the Green and White pushed the lead to 11-2. First-year Mark Webber (Norwell, Mass.) drove in Gonzalez, and classmate Zeke Zabinski (Blue Bell, Pa.) doubled down the left field line to plate Halpin and Webber to make it 14-2 before the Lions recorded an out. Arena capped the inning with his second double, driving in Zabinski in the process.
First-year David Lennon (Windermere, Fla.) singled and later scored on a wild pitch in the last of the seventh, while juniorJon Gravallese (North Reading, Mass.) reached on a fielder's choice and raced home on Ayala's single through the right side for a 17-2 advantage.
The Lions, who had just two hits over the first eight innings, strung together four hits in the top of the ninth and scored on RBI singles by sophomore Connor Damiano (Randolph, N.J.) and Cain.
Senior Connor Allen (Madison, N.J.) earned his first victory of the season for Babson, giving up just two unearned runs on two hits over five innings. Ayala finished with four hits and two RBI, MacPhee was 3-for-3 with four RBI, and Gonzalez went 3-for-5 with two RBI, three runs scored and two stolen bases. Lennon added three hits, while Weiss and Zabinski both had two hits, scored twice and drove in a pair of runs.
Sophomore Kyle Becker (Jericho, N.Y.) shouldered the loss for Emerson after giving up six earned runs on seven hits in just 1.1 innings.
Babson will wrap up NEWMAC play at Clark on Wednesday at 3 p.m., while the Lions travel to Worcester, Mass., to take on the Cougars in a doubleheader on Sunday starting at 12 p.m.
