Gill, Baseball Blank Otterbein in Season Opener, 4-0

Photo, Recap Courtesy of Babson

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla.—Junior Connor Gill (Sterling, Mass.) gave up just two hits over seven innings and four different players drove in a run to help Babson College defeat Otterbein University, 4-0, in non-conference baseball action on Friday afternoon at North County Regional Park.

Babson (1-0) opened the season with a victory for the fourth year in a row, while Otterbein drops to 2-1 on the year.

Junior Brian McHale (Ramsey, N.J.) went 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI, while sophomore Jake Oliger (Newtown, Conn.) had two hits, including his first career home run, and scored twice for the Beavers. Senior David Lennon (Windermere, Fla.) also went 2-for-3 with a double and reached base three times on the afternoon.

Gill, who struck out two and walked one, was in complete control for Babson, allowing just an infield single to start the third inning and a two-out knock in the fifth. He retired the final seven batters he faced before turning the ball over to the bullpen. Junior Max Tannenbaum (Coral Springs, Fla.) got a double play to work around a hit batsman in the eighth and senior Matt Cuneo (Ashland, Mass.) retired the side in order in the ninth to close out the win.

The Beavers loaded the bases in the first and took a 1-0 lead when McHale raced home on a ground ball to second base. Oliger doubled to lead off the second and later scored on McHale's two-out triple to deep right field to extend the advantage to 2-0.

Senior Stevie Yuran (Venetia, Pa.) worked out of a jam after issuing a pair of walks in the third, but Babson struck again in the fourth. Junior Eric Jaun (Loveland, Ohio) singled to center, Lennon doubled down the left field line and McHale reached on an infield single to load the bases with nobody out. Junior Edward Lehr (Byram Township, N.J.) followed with a line drive sacrifice fly to center to drive in McHale to make it a three-run game.

Oliger tacked on another insurance run in the eighth when he drilled a towering home run down the left field line to give the Green and White a 4-0 edge.

Yuran allowed three runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out five in 4.0 innings for the Cardinals. Seniors Justin Feltner (Kettering, Ohio) and Dom Guzzi (New Kensington, Ohio) both had a hit in the loss.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are now 1-1 all-time against Otterbein with another matchup against the Cardinals scheduled for Saturday afternoon.
• Gill, who has gone at least seven innings in each of his last four starts, improved his career record to 7-0 with Friday's win.
• McHale extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a lead-off single in the bottom of the first inning.
• Senior Ryan Arena (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) has reached base in 35 consecutive games after going 1-for-3 on Friday.