Baseball at Salem State
Tuesday, May 1—3:30 p.m.
Salem State Baseball Field—Salem, Mass.
THE SERIES
Babson and Salem State will meet for the 11th time on Tuesday in a series that dates back to 1989. The Beavers are 3-7 all-time against the Vikings and picked up their first win in the series since 1998 last season.
LAST MEETING
Jack Halpin '17, senior Ryan Arena and classmate Mark Webber all homered and combined to drive in 10 runs as the Beavers defeated Salem State, 12-5, on May 2, 2017, in Babson Park. Webber, who also doubled, drove in four runs, while Arena and Halpin had three RBI apiece for the Beavers, who batted around in both the third and fourth innings.
LAST SALEM STATE WIN
Senior John Floegel allowed just one earned run over 5.2 innings, but the Vikings erupted for five runs over the final two frames on its way to defeating the Beavers, 7-3, in Salem, Mass., on April 27, 2016. George Crowley '16 Halpin both had two hits, while Webber added a double for the Beavers. Senior Mac Daniel Singleton went 3-for-4 with a triple, an RBI and two runs scored, while Mike Davis added a pair of hits and drove in a pair of runs for Salem State.
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
Salem State (19-16) snapped a three-game skid with an 11-0 victory over MCLA in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday. Junior Matt Marquez and sophomore Kyle O'Connor both drove in a pair of runs in support of junior Brock Riley, who struck out three in a five-hit shutout for the Vikings. Singleton is batting .390 with nine extra-base hits and 19 runs batted in, O'Connor is hitting .345 with seven doubles, seven triples and 25 RBI, and senior Alex Toomey checks in at .297 with 15 extra-base hits and 26 runs driven in. Junior Stephen Keskindis is 4-0 with a 0.92 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 29.1 innings, while senior Steve Leavitt is 4-3 with a 3.18 ERA in eight starts.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
Babson (27-10) extended its winning streak to six with a 13-6 victory at Western New England on Monday afternoon. Arena, senior David Lennon and sophomore Matthew Valente all drove in two runs for the Beavers, who scored six runs over the first two innings. Arena is batting .365 with 12 doubles, nine homers and 40 runs batted in, sophomore Jake Oliger is hitting .360 with seven doubles and 32 RBI, and sophomore Brian McHale checks in at .333 with 20 extra-base hits, 21 RBI and 39 runs scored. The trio of Floegel, junior Connor Gill and classmate Michael Genaro has gone 16-4 with a 2.68 ERA with 123 strikeouts and just 31 walks for a pitching staff that owns a 3.32 ERA this spring.
PATIENCE AT THE PLATE
The Beavers have drawn seven or more walks on 10 occasions this spring after taking a base on balls 11 times in Monday's win at Western New England. Oliger and junior Edward Lehr each walked three times for the Green and White, which has drawn 182 free passes this spring and is just two walks shy of its single-season program record set back in 2009.
THROWING UP ZEROS
Floegel, who picked up his fourth win of the season, extended his scoreless innings streak to 20.2 innings after tossing a pair of shutout frames on Monday at Western New England. He last allowed a run in the sixth inning of a 4-3 victory at Wheaton back on April 7.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Beavers are 21-2 this season when out-hitting their opponents.
