Babson Baseball Knocks Off No. 16 Southern Maine, 12-8, as Noone Collects 300th Win

Recap, photo courtesy of Babson College

Beavers Top Huskies For Third Time in Four Years Behind Webber's Grand Slam
GORHAM, Maine—Sophomore Mark Webber (Norwell, Mass.) hit a fourth-inning grand slam and drove in five runs to help Babson College head coach Matt Noone collect his 300th career victory as the Beavers defeated the 16th-ranked University of Southern Maine, 12-8, in non-conference baseball action on Thursday afternoon.

With its fourth win in the last five games, Babson is now 18-12-1 overall, while Southern Maine slips to 18-9 with its third consecutive loss.

Webber had a pair of hits and scored twice, while junior Jack Halpin (Glastonbury, Conn.) went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, two RBI and two runs scored to pace a 13-hit Babson attack. Junior Jake Weiss (Irvine, Calif.) and sophomore David Lennon (Windermere, Fla.) both finished with two hits and an RBI, and first-year Eric Jaun (Loveland, Ohio) added a pair of hits and scored once in the victory.

Sophomore Tom Burdewicz (Boxford, Mass.) went 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBI, while
first-year Kip Richard (Kennebunk, Maine) contributed two hits and drove in three runs for the Huskies.

Sophomore Adam Ayala (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) and Halpin gave the Green and White a 2-0 lead in the top of the first with back-to-back RBI doubles. Senior George Crowley (Watertown, Mass.) plated Jaun with a two-out double in the third before Webber broke the game open with his first career grand slam in the fourth. Lennon and first-year Connor Gill (Sterling, Mass.) both singled before Southern Maine chose to intentionally walk Halpin to get to Webber, who made them pay with a bomb over the wall in right center for a 7-0 lead.

The Huskies scored three times in the bottom of the fourth, capped by Richard's two-out, two-run double. The Beavers responded with an RBI single from Weiss in the fifth and four more insurance runs in the sixth. Halpin drove in Ayala with his second double of the day, and then came home on Webber's single through the right side, pushing the lead to 10-3. Senior Joe Barry (Stoneham, Mass.) plated Webber with an RBI ground out, while Lennon came through with a two-out RBI double to push the Babson advantage to 12-3.

Junior Ken Rotunno (East Islip, N.Y.) gave up two earned runs on seven hits over 5.1 innings to move to 3-3 on the year. First-years Edward Lehr (Byram Township, N.J.) and Max Tannenbaum (Coral Springs, Fla.) limited the Huskies to just a run on three hits over the next 2.2 frames before they broke through for a pair of runs in the ninth.

Sophomore Bobby Delaney (Merrick, N.Y.) suffered the loss for Southern Maine after being tagged for seven runs on seven hits and three walks in just 3.2 innings.

Babson will open a three-game series with Emerson at Govoni Field on Friday at 3:30 p.m., while the Huskies host Plymouth State in a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 12 p.m.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are now 6-9-1 all-time against Southern Maine and have won three of the last four meetings between the schools.
• In four games this week, Webber is 7-for-16 (.438) with three doubles, a triple, a home run and 10 RBI, while Halpin is 8-for-17 (.471) with six doubles and five RBI over the same four-game stretch.
• Babson is 11-5-1 this season against non-conference opponents.