April 14, 2007

Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Junior Sam Whalen and sophomore Jeff Wojnar were dominant in pitching their Babson College baseball team to 3-1 and 8-1 victories over Springfield College in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference doubleheader at SC's Berry-Allen Field this afternoon.

With the wins, Babson raises its record to 15-9 overall, 4-5 in the NEWMAC. Springfield drops to 6-16 overall, 2-6 in the league.

It was an afternoon where it looked like the Springfield pitchers would dominate early on, as Babson did not register a hit until the fourth inning of game number one or until the sixth inning of game number two. SC starters Jimmy Lisowski, a sophomore left-hander from Warwick, Mass., and Derek Hodder, a senior right-hander from Hamden, Conn., were both sailing along early in their respective starts.

However, it was Whalen, a junior right-hander from Milton, Mass., and Wojnar, a sophomore from Bellaire, Texas, who proved to very formidable opponents, as each came away with a win.

In game number one, Springfield struck first in the bottom of the third inning without the benefit of a base hit. With one out, senior left-fielder Josh Charpentier (Fairhaven, Mass.) walked. He went to second on a balk, to third on an error, and scored on a sacrifice fly to right by junior shortstop Tim Romeo (Whitesboro, N.Y.).

Lisowski pitched his way out of jams in both the fourth and fifth innings before finally running into trouble in the sixth. Babson took advantage of some wildness with one very timely two-out single by freshman center-fielder Peter O'Toole (Salem, Mass.) that plated two runs. Moments later, O'Toole and freshman third baseman Jake Bartlett (Weymouth, Mass.) worked a successful double steal, with Bartlett scoring the run.

For Babson, junior right-fielder Steve Tahmoush (Arlington, Mass.) had a pair of hits, including a double, to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. It was his 12th multi-hit game of the season. Whalen went the full seven for the Beavers, allowing just one unearned run on five hits. He struck out six and walked just two, and is now 4-1 on the season.

Lisowski also went the distance for Springfield, allowing three unearned runs on six hits. He struck out seven and walked three. Lisowski, who has pitched in some tough luck games this year, is now 2-4.

Game number two started out as a fantastic pitching duel, as Hodder and Wojnar matched zeros for the first five innings. However, everything unraveled for SC in the top of the sixth, as senior shortstop Billy Schmitt (Fairview, N.J.) was the first of eight straight batters to reach base when he reached on an error, although the Pride did manage to cut down a runner at the plate during that stretch. RBI singles were produced by sophomore DH Bryan Evans (Bellaire, Texas) and senior first baseman Ryan Campbell (Manchester, N.H.). After a hit batsman, Bartlett then had the game's biggest hit when he launched a grand slam to left. It was the first home run of his collegiate career, and it gave the Beavers a 6-0 lead.

In the seventh, Babson scored again on a sacrifice fly to left by Campbell, and in the ninth, Evans and junior second baseman Matt Delaney (Newton, Mass.) engineered another successful double steal for the game's final run.

Springfield scored its lone run in the seventh. With two outs, sophomore second baseman Drew Michael (Longmeadow, Mass.) singled, went to third on a single by junior catcher Justin Nussey (Westminster, Mass.), and scored on a wild pitch.

Wojnar (3-2) was credited with the win after a strong showing on the hill for Babson. In seven innings, he gave up six hits and just the one run, stricking out three and walking one. Hodder (2-3) went the first six innings for SC, taking the loss.

For Springfield, junior DH Casey Federico (Agawam, Mass.) was the only player to have two hits. He went 2-for-3, plus a walk. For Babson, players with two hits included Tahmoush (2-for-5), who upped his hitting streak to 14 games with his 13th multi-hit game, Evans (2-for-5), and Bartlett (2-for-4). Delaney was 1-for-1, but reached base five times after drawing four walks.

NOTE: Taken from a Springfield College press release.