Baseball vs. Wheaton
Saturday, April 7 | Sidell Stadium | Norton, Mass. | 12/3 p.m.
Sunday, April 7 | Govoni Field | Babson Park, Mass. | 12 p.m.
THE SERIES
Babson and Wheaton will play a three-game set beginning on Friday in Babson Park. The Beavers are 22-42 all-time against the Lyons in a series that dates back to 1998 but won four of five matchups between the teams last season, which includes a two-game sweep in the NEWMAC Tournament semifinals.
LAST MEETING
Senior Mark Webber homered twice and drove in four runs to help the Beavers closeout their best-of-three NEWMAC Tournament semifinal series victory with a 10-2 win on April 29, 2017, in Babson Park. Senior Ryan Arena and Owen Shea '17 also went deep for Babson, which scored seven times in the fifth inning to break a 2-2 deadlock. Zach Goodwin-Boyd and Tyler Walsh both homered for the Lyons.
LAST WHEATON WIN
Junior Jared Sharkey had two hits and two RBI, while senior Dan Southerland gave up just one run over 6.2 innings as the Lyons defeated the Beavers, 7-3, in opening game of a doubleheader on April 8, 2017, in Babson Park. Jack Halpin '17, Jake Weiss '17 and Adam Ayala all finished with two hits for Babson, which stranded 10 runners in the loss.
SCOUTING THE LYONS
Wheaton (10-9, 5-1 NEWMAC) has won three straight games after blanking Springfield, 5-0, on Wednesday afternoon. First-year Gavin Reily struck out five and allowed just four hits over eight innings, while sophomore Nick Raposo tripled and scored twice for the Lyons. Raposo is batting .389 with 12 extra-base hits and 21 runs batted in, senior Chris Ruocco is hitting .366 with six doubles, a homer and 13 RBI, and sophomore Bryan Salkind checks in at .338 with three doubles and 20 runs driven in. Southerland (3-1) and senior Brady Furdon (2-1) have combined for a 3.41 ERA and 52 strikeouts over 58.0 innings, while first-year John Mikosz has two saves to go along with 14 strikeouts in 9.0 innings of relief.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
Babson (13-7, 4-2 NEWMAC) has won six consecutive games following Thursday 26-1 rout of WPI. Arena homered and drove in five runs, while juniors Eric Jaun and Brian McHale both had three hits and three RBI as part of the Beavers' 24-hit attack. Senior David Lennon is batting .392 with five doubles and seven runs batted in, McHale is hitting .382 with 10 extra-base hits, 16 RBI and 23 runs scored, and sophomore Sean Harrington boasts a .534 on-base percentage to go along with nine extra-base hits and a team-high 19 RBI. Sophomore Michael Nocchi has allowed just one earned run in 11.2 innings, while junior Connor Gill is 2-1 with a 3.80 ERA in 23.2 innings on the year.
FEASTING AT THE PLATE
Webber is batting .500 (10-for-20) with six doubles and 12 runs scored, while Harrington and fellow sophomore Jake Oliger have combined to go 15-for-30 with three home runs and 21 runs batted in during the Beavers' current six-game winning streak. Additionally, McHale (.429) and Arena (.364) have both homered three times and driven in 11 runs apiece during this stretch.
DON'T FORGET ABOUT US
Lost in the offensive onslaught over the last six games is the performance of Babson's pitching staff, which has a 2.04 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP in addition to holding opposing hitters to a .229 batting average. The Beavers' starting staff has been even better in four league outings as junior Michael Genaro (two starts), Gill and senior John Floegel have gone 4-0 with a 2.08 earned run average and 20 strikeouts in 26.0 innings.
BATTING 1.000
First-year Peter Feinman has six hits in six at-bats off the bench and accounted for Babson's 26th run on Thursday against WPI by hitting his first collegiate home run.
STREAKS TO WATCH
Harrington and Lennon have reached base in 15 and nine games, respectively, while Webber enters this weekend's series riding an eight-game hitting streak.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Beavers are batting .352 with 20 doubles and 11 home runs over their first six conference games this spring.
