CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Junior Ken Rotunno (East Islip, N.Y.) tossed 5.2 innings of scoreless relief as fourth-seeded Babson College rallied from a four-run deficit in game one, while MIT junior David Hesslink (San Diego, Calif.) allowed just two hits over eight innings in the nightcap as the teams split the first two games of their best-of-three New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) semifinal series on Saturday afternoon. The Beavers won the opener 11-8 before the top-seeded Engineers came back with a 6-0 triumph in game two.

Babson, which is now 23-14-1, and MIT (20-12) will play a decisive game three on Sunday at 11 a.m. in Cambridge.

Junior Jake Weiss (Irvine, Calif.) went 3-for-4 with a double and three runs scored, while sophomore Adam Ayala (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) drove in two runs and stole three bases in game one for the Beavers. First-year Eric Jaun (Loveland, Ohio) went 2-for-5 with two RBI and sophomore David Lennon (Windermere, Fla.) and first-year Edward Lehr (Byram Township, N.J.) both added two hits and scored twice. Senior George Crowley (Watertown, Mass.) also chipped in with two hits, including a double, and scored once in the win.

Junior John Drago (Peoria, Ariz.) and sophomore Austin Filiere (Chandler, Ariz.) both homered and combined to drive in three runs for the Engineers, who made nine errors in the loss.

The Green and White took a 2-1 lead in the top of the second before MIT got a two-run homer from Drago and a two-run double from senior Nate Rodman (Corvallis, Ore.) to build a 6-2 advantage in the third. Jaun cut the deficit in half with a two-out, two-run double in the fifth, and Weiss scored on an error in the sixth to get Babson within 6-5.

The Beavers took the lead for good with a four-run seventh inning. Lehr tied the game with an RBI single, and then scored along with Crowley when the Engineers committed two errors on Weiss' single to center field. Weiss later raced home from third on a wild pitch to extended the Babson lead to 9-6.

The Green and White tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth before MIT took advantage of an infield single and a pair of wild pitches to score twice in their final at-bat.

Rotunno was superb in relief of senior Nick Ahearn (Norfolk, Mass.), allowing just two hits while striking out three over 5.2 innings to earn his fourth win of the season. Junior Graham Stack (Arlington, Mass.) fanned two in a perfect eighth inning for the Beavers.

Engineers' senior ace Nick Locasio (Naples, Fla.) gave up four earned runs on nine hits over 5.2 innings, while sophomore Zach Michaud (Moorestown, N.J.) suffered the loss after being tagged for three earned runs on four hits in just 0.2 innings.

Following a scoreless first inning of game two, MIT erupted for four runs in the bottom of the second to seize control of the game. The hosts strung together five straight hits, including an RBI double from sophomore David Heller (Fair Lawn, N.J.) and a two-run double by senior Kendall Helbert (St. Louis, Mo.). Babson first-year starter Daniel Cooney (Verona, N.J.) worked around a lead-off double in the third, but was not as fortunate in the fifth as Drago started the frame with a single and Filiere hit a two-run homer to right center two batters later to make it 6-0.

Hesslink retired 12 straight batters after Ayala reached on an error in the first, and then mowed down nine consecutive hitters after giving up singles to Crowley and Lennon in the fifth. He struck out four and walked one to move to 6-2 on the year with the win.

Cooney allowed six runs on eight hits over 4.1 innings to fall to 4-3 on the year for the Green and White. Lehr, first-year Connor Gill (Sterling, Mass.) and junior John Russolillo (Georgetown, Mass.) limited the Engineers to four hits over the final 3.2 innings.

The winner of Sunday's decisive game three will advance to next weekend's NEWMAC championship series.

GAME NOTES
• Babson, which is 5-7 all-time in the conference playoffs, has won the opening game of its last two best-of-three NEWMAC Tournament series.
• The Beavers No. 5-9 hitters went 11-for-23 with nine runs scored in game one on Saturday.
• Prior to finishing with two hits in game two, the Green and White had recorded 10 or more hits in nine consecutive games.