April 19, 2008

Box Score (Game 1) | Box Score (Game 2)

BABSON PARK, Mass. - The Babson College baseball team capped off its NEWMAC regular season play with an impressive sweep of visiting Clark University on Saturday, as the Beavers won by scores of 7-0 and 10-4. With the two victories, Babson, ranked fourth in New England, extended its winning streak to 11 games and improved to 25-8 overall and 11-1 in the conference. It marked the team's second straight 25-win season, and the Beavers' current winning percentage of .758 is the highest in the 39-year history of the program.

The two losses knocked Clark down to 10-19 overall and 4-8 in the conference. The Cougars finished sixth in the league standings and will come back to Babson Park for a matchup with the top-seeded Beavers this Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. in the first round of the six-team NEWMAC Double Elimination Tournament. Babson holds home field advantage throughout the tourney after clinching its first-ever regular season title this past Thursday.

Babson won the opener, 7-0, despite getting outhit by Clark, 8-3. Eight walks and four errors doomed the Cougars in the contest, while Babson junior Jeff Wojnar (Bellaire, Texas) fired six shutout innings on the mound. The righthander allowed seven hits, walked one, and struck out one as he improved to 3-2 on the year. Sophomore Michael O'Brien (Shrewsbury, Mass.) added a scoreless ninth out of the bull pen for the Beavers, while senior Robbie Leer (Edina, Minn.), sophomore Peter O'Toole (Salem, Mass.), and junior Bryan Evans (Bellaire, Texas) all contributed RBI singles.

Senior Miles Whitlock (Augusta, Maine) took the loss (1-4) for Clark with a bizarre pitching line, going 4 2/3 innings and allowing three hits, six runs - none of which were earned - six walks, three strikeouts, a hit batter, and four wild pitches.

The Babson offense erupted in game two, scoring 10 runs on 16 hits to claim a 10-4 win. Sophomore Brian Scanlon (Lawrenceville, N.J.) led the way by going 4-for-5 with two RBIs, while Evans and sophomore Dave Ahern (Bedford, Mass.) each finished 2-for-4 with three driven in. Seniors Steve Tahmoush (Arlington, Mass.), Matt Delaney (Newton, Mass.), and Andrew Nodine (Portland, Maine) also had two hits apiece, with Delaney scoring a career-high five runs.

Senior Jeff Musante (Woodbridge, Conn.) was the beneficiary of Babson's offensive output, as he improved to 3-2 with six strong innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits, walking two and striking out five. Sophomore Jonathan Merritt (East Bridgewater, Mass.) started and took the loss for Clark, dropping his record to 3-2.