April 13, 2007

Box Score

BABSON PARK, Mass. - Senior tri-captain Billy Schmitt (Fairview, N.J.) drove in four runs at the plate and made several outstanding plays at shortstop to lead the host Babson College Beavers to an 11-6 victory over the visiting UMass-Dartmouth Corsairs in a non-conference baseball game at Govoni Field on Friday afternoon.

It looked to be a long day for both pitching staffs, as the two teams combined for 10 runs in the second inning alone. Already leading 1-0 after an RBI double by junior Dylan Zygmont (Swansea, Mass.) in the first, UMass-Dartmouth (5-14) scored five runs in the second to build a 6-0 advantage. Junior Kevin Narey (Lynn, Mass.) forced in the first when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to chase junior starter Robbie Leer (Edina, Minn.), who had been hit by a line drive earlier in the inning. Zygmont then greeted sophomore reliever Pete Bizinkauskas (Duxbury, Mass.) with a two-run double to left, and junior Billy Reiss (Clinton, Conn.) knocked in two more with a flair to shallow center.

Babson (13-9) stormed back into the contest with five runs in the bottom of the second, beginning when senior Ryan Campbell (Manchester, N.H.) scored from second on an errant throw after first-year Jake Bartlett (Weymouth, Mass.) had singled. Three batters later, Schmitt came to the plate with the bases loaded and laced a single up the middle, scoring two runs to make it 6-3. Junior Steve Tahmoush (Arlington, Mass.) singled to left to extend his hitting streak to 12 games, and junior Matt Delaney (Newton, Mass.) followed with the Beavers' second bases-loaded hit of the inning - a two-run single to left that pulled Babson to within one.

After giving up a single and a walk with two outs in the third, Bizinkauskas settled into a nice groove for the Beavers, retiring 10 straight at one point to quiet the UMass-Dartmouth bats. Meanwhile, Babson grabbed the lead in the fifth with four unearned runs off senior starter Mike Maclean (Spencer, Mass.), including one on a bases-loaded walk issued to first-year Brian Scanlon (Lawrenceville, N.J.) that tied the game. Schmitt then recorded his second hit of the day with the sacks full when he lined a double to the gap in right center, scoring first-year Peter O'Toole (Salem, Mass.) and sophomore Bryan Evans (Bellaire, Texas) to put the Beavers in front, 8-6. Tahmoush tacked on another run when he beat out an infield hit that scored Scanlon from third, as Babson increased its lead to 9-6.

The Beavers capped the scoring in the bottom of the eighth, as Campbell walked, moved to third on a single by Bartlett, and scored on a throwing error. O'Toole followed with an RBI single to right that scored Bartlett from second, giving Babson an 11-6 advantage.

Schmitt turned in one of the finest performances of his career in the win, going 2-for-4 with a run scored and four RBIs. In addition, he made several stellar plays at short, including a great leaping catch of a line drive off the bat of sophomore Sean Smolinsky (Hull, Mass.) to start the sixth. Schmitt also made a nice play to cut down a runner at third in the seventh, and he factored into both of the Beavers' doubleplays, including a 6-4-3 twin-killing that ended the ballgame.

Tahmoush had another big day at the plate for Babson, going 4-for-5 with an RBI. It was his 11th multi-hit game of the season, as he raised his batting average to .415 on the spring. O'Toole added three hits, two runs, and an RBI for the Beavers, increasing his average to a team-leading .419, while Bartlett joined Schmitt with two hits. Bizinkauskas (2-0) earned the win with a fantastic relief performance, as he allowed just one run on five hits in 5 1/3 innings of work. Sophomore Chris Legrow (North Andover, Mass.) and first-year Dave Ahern (Bedford, Mass.) each added a scoreless inning of relief for the Beavers, who held the Corsairs scoreless over the last seven frames.

Despite taking the loss, Maclean (1-2) bounced back well from his second-inning woes. For the game, he allowed nine runs, only four of which were earned, on 10 hits, walked two and struck out three in six innings. Zygmont finished 2-for-5 with a run and three RBIs, while Narey went 2-for-3 with two runs and one driven in.