Babson Baseball Splits NEWMAC Doubleheader With WPI

BABSON PARK, Mass.—Sophomore Teddy Carey (Upton, Mass.) tossed eight shutout innings in game one and classmate Mark Webber (Norwell, Mass.) had two extra-base hits and drove in six runs over two games as Babson College split its New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) baseball doubleheader with WPI on Sunday afternoon at Govoni Field. The Beavers won the opener 11-2, while the Engineers rallied for an 8-7 victory in game two.

Babson is now 12-8-1 overall and 4-4 in conference play, while WPI moves to 18-7 overall and 6-2 in the NEWMAC.

Carey dominated WPI in game one to pick up his first career victory while snapping the Beavers'
three-game skid. He allowed just three hits and one walk while striking out seven and taking advantage of five double plays on the afternoon.

Webber went 2-for-3 with a double, three RBI and two runs scored, while junior Jack Halpin (Glastonbury, Conn.) finished with two hits and drove in two runs for the Green and White. First-year Brian McHale (Ramsey, N.J.) was 2-for-4 with three runs scored, and sophomore Adam Ayala (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) reached base three times and scored twice.

Babson jumped on top early in the opener with a pair of first-inning runs. Ayala walked and stole second before scoring on Halpin's single, and Halpin moved to second on a balk and then came around to make it 2-0 on Webber's base hit to right. Ayala singled home McHale with two outs in the second and Webber scored all the way from first on first-year Eric Jaun's (Loveland, Ohio) two-out double in the third to extend the Beavers' lead to 4-0.

Junior Kevin Murphy (Pembroke, Mass.) walked to lead off the fifth, moved to second on one of his two stolen bases and then came across to make it 5-0 on Webber's two-out double to the base of the center field wall. Crowley sparked a three-run sixth with his two-run homer to left, and the Green and White tacked on three late runs to take an 11-0 lead in the eighth.

Senior John Mulready (Rockland, Mass.) drove in a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth for the Engineers. Junior CJ Doskocil (Sterling, Mass.) suffered the loss after giving up five runs on six hits and four walks in five innings.

WPI turned the tables in game two as senior Alex Venditti (Newton, Mass.) crushed a two-out home run to right in the bottom of the first, and senior DJ Ouellette (Watertown, Conn.) hammered a two-run shot to center in the second for a 4-0 lead. Babson responded with a three-run third, including a two-run single by Webber, and tied the game in fourth when sophomore David Lennon (Windermere, Fla.) led off with a double and came around on McHale's one-out single.

Lennon struck again in the fifth, smacking a doubled to the left center field gap to drive in Jaun and Webber, to put the Beavers in front 6-4. Venditti trimmed the Engineers' deficit to 6-5 with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth and Ouellette tied with solo shot in the sixth. Webber answered with a solo home run of his own to start the seventh inning as Babson regained a 7-6 advantage.

The lead was short-lived however, as Venditti put WPI in front for good with a two-run blast, his second of the day, in the bottom of the frame. First-year Austin Labastie (Mendon, Mass.) was perfect over the final two innings, striking out three, to earn his first career save.

First-year Connor Gill (Sterling, Mass.) went 3-for-5, while Webber and Lennon combined for three extra-base hits and five RBI for the Green and White. First-year Daniel Cooney (Verona, N.J.) suffered the loss to drop to 3-2 on the year after giving up four runs on seven hits in four innings of relief.

Venditti and Ouellette combined to drive in seven runs, while junior Nick Comei (Haverhill, Mass.) and first-year Steven Gallagher (Coventry, Mass.) each had two hits apiece for the Engineers. Junior Mike Duclos (Greenfield, Mass.) picked up his first win of the year despite allowing three runs on five hits in three innings of relief.