WINTER HAVEN, Fla.—First-year Edward Lehr (Byram Township, N.J.) went 3-for-5 with three RBI and drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh as Babson College edged Franklin & Marshall College, 8-7, in non-conference baseball action on Friday afternoon at Chain of Lakes Park.
 
With its third straight win, Babson is now 5-3 overall, while Franklin & Marshall drops to 5-8 on the year.
 
First-year Eric Jaun (Loveland, Ohio) went 3-for-5 with a run scored, while senior George Crowley (Watertown, Mass.) and junior Jack Halpin (Glastonbury, Conn.) each had two hits and a run scored for the Beavers. Sophomore Mark Webber (Norwell, Mass.) was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored in the win.
 
Senior Matt Mezansky (Larchmont, N.Y.) went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBI, while junior Christopher Vincent (Monclair, N.J.) homered twice and had three hits for the Diplomats.
 
The teams traded runs over the first two innings before the Green and White took the lead with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth. First-year Brian McHale (Ramsey, N.J.) drove in Webber with a two-out single up the middle, and Lehr came home one batter later when junior Jake Weiss (Irvine, Calif.) reached on an error to make it 3-1.
 
Babson added to its lead in the fifth with three more runs. Crowley produced the last of three straight singles to drive in Jaun, and junior Owen Shea (Northborough, Mass.) followed with a sacrifice fly to score Halpin for a 5-1 lead. Crowley advanced to second on a wild pitch and then scored on Lehr's two-out single to center to make it 6-1.
 
The Diplomats rallied though, as Mezansky smacked a two-out, two-run homer in the last of the fifth, and Vincent sparked a three-run rally that tied the game at 6-6 with his lead-off homer in the sixth. The Beavers went back in front for good on Lehr's one-out single in the seventh, and tacked on an insurance run when sophomore Adam Ayala (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) scored with one away in the ninth.
 
Despite giving up a two-out solo home run to Vincent in the ninth, Babson sophomore Matt Cuneo (Ashland, Mass.) struck out junior Tyler Daley (Kensington, Md.) to end the game and earn his second save in three days.
 
Junior Ken Rotunno (East Islip, N.Y.) worked out of a jam in the sixth to earn his first win of the year in relief of senior Nick Ahearn (Norfolk, Mass.), who allowed six earned runs on 11 hits in 5.0 innings. First-year Daniel Cooney (Verona, N.J.) and junior Graham Stack (Arlington, Mass.) each tossed a scoreless inning of relief for the Beavers.
 
Babson will play its final game in Florida on Saturday when it takes on Kalamazoo at 9:45 a.m. on Saturday.