Babson Baseball Outslugs UMass Dartmouth, 11-10

Photo is courtesy of Babson College

BABSON PARK, Mass.—Junior Jack Halpin (Glastonbury, Conn.) went 2-for-3 with a double, a home run, two runs scored and three RBI to help Babson College hold off visiting UMass Dartmouth, 11-10, in non-conference baseball action on Monday afternoon at Govoni Field.

With the win, Babson is now 13-8-1 overall, while UMass Dartmouth drops to 8-11 on the year.

First-year Daniel Cooney (Verona, N.J.) was 3-for-3 and classmate Connor Gill (Sterling, Mass.) went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored for the Beavers. Sophomore Mark Webber (Norwell, Mass.) homered for the second straight game and scored twice after reaching base three times in the win.

Sophomore Ervin Kantardzic (Roslindale, Mass.) and first-year DeVon King (Carver, Mass.) both
had three hits and drove in a run for the Corsairs. Junior Tyler Cacciola (West Greenwich, R.I.) went 2-for-5 with two RBI and sophomore Mac Curran (Lakeville, Mass.) doubled and drove in a run.

The Green and White took a 3-2 lead after one, only to see UMass Dartmouth respond with a three-run second inning that included a two-out RBI single by Cacciola. The Beavers responded in the bottom of the frame though, as Halpin cranked a two-run home run over the wall in center to tie the game at 5-5.

Gill scored on a wild pitch to give the Beavers a 6-5 advantage in the fourth, and the hosts took advantage of two errors in the fifth as senior George Crowley (Watertown, Mass.) and junior Owen Shea (Northborough, Mass.) came home to extend the lead to 8-6. Gill produced again in the seventh, singling through the right side to plate Shea and sophomore David Lennon (Windermere, Fla.) to make it a four-run game.

Cacciola recorded a one-out RBI single to help the Corsairs cut their deficit to 10-7 in the top of the eighth, but Webber followed with his fifth home run of the year, a solo blast to right, to extend the Babson lead back to 11-7 going to the ninth. UMass Dartmouth rallied for three runs, including an RBI double by Curran and a run-scoring single by King, and had the go-ahead run in scoring position with two outs before Beavers' sophomore closer Matt Cuneo (Ashland, Mass.) struck out Cacciola to escape further danger and preserve the win.

First-year Edward Lehr (Byram Township, N.J.) gave up just one unearned run on two hits in two innings of relief to earn his first career victory for the Beavers. Sophomore Benjamin Lodge (Blackstone, Mass.) dropped to 0-2 on the year after giving up four runs on four hits in 3.1 innings of relief for the Corsairs.

Both teams return to action on Tuesday (today) at 3:30 p.m. as Babson hosts Clark, while UMass Dartmouth visits Fitchburg State.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are now 13-21 all-time against the Corsairs and have won seven of the last 10 meetings between the teams.
• Babson, which has gone 9-4-1 against non-league foes this spring, is averaging 8.21 runs in non-conference games.
• The Beavers are now 12-0-1 when leading after seven innings on the year.