BOX
SCORE
WORCESTER, Mass. - Junior Peter O'Toole's
(Salem, MA) two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning lifted
fourth-seeded Babson to a dramatic 8-7 victory over second-seeded
Wheaton to conclude day three of the 2009 NEWMAC Baseball
Tournament hosted by WPI.
The Beavers (20-15) now advance to Sunday's championship round
to face MIT, while nationally-ranked Wheaton (28-9) is eliminated
from the tournament. Babson takes home the title with a
single victory while MIT must win twice on Sunday to earn the
championship.
Trailing 7-5 entering the bottom of the eighth, first-year
Billy Miller (Sagamore Beach, MA) got things
started for the Beavers with a double to left center. After
moving to third on a ground out, he came home on a fielding error,
setting the stage for O'Toole's heroics. The Beavers then
turned things over to senior closer Chris Legrow
(North Andover, MA), who retired the side in the ninth to register
his third save of the season.
Wheaton scored single runs in the first two innings on a RBI
single by Sean Munley (Trenton, NJ) and a sacrifice fly off the bat
of Nick Pecora (Highland Park, NJ). The Lyons received a
two-run double from Hadi Raad (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY) in the third
to open up a 4-0 advantage before the Beavers battled backed in the
bottom half of the frame with three runs, highlighted by a two-run
home run by senior co-captain Bryan Evans
(Bellaire, TX).
Manley helped Wheaton take momentum back by depositing a two-run
homer over the left centerfield fence an inning later to push the
Wheaton advantage back to 6-3. For the game, Raad and Munley
combined for six of the seven Wheaton RBIs.
Babson sliced the lead to 6-5 in the bottom of the sixth when
Miller and sophomore Corey Highfield (East
Hampstead, NJ) notched RBI singles. Wheaton's final run came
in the top of the seventh on a run-producing single by Raad.
Junior Michael O'Brien (Shrewsbury, MA) went
the first eight innings for Babson, scattering 12 hits en route to
improving to 4-1 on the season. Josh Simmons (Cranston, RI),
Wheaton's fourth of five pitchers in the contest, was saddled with
the loss. The senior, who earlier in the day collected a save
in the Lyons win over WPI, falls to 0-1.
NOTE: Taken from a WPI press release.
