NORTHBOROUGH, Mass.—Graduate student Matthew Valente (Wyckoff, N.J.) recorded four extra-base hits and drove in nine runs in two games as 10th-ranked Babson College swept Emerson College in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) doubleheader on Saturday at the New England Baseball Complex.

The Beavers routed the Lions in the opener, 23-1, and took game two 11-6.

Babson is now 8-2 overall and 7-1 in conference play, while Emerson drops to 1-7 overall and in the NEWMAC.

GAME 1: Babson 23, Emerson 1
Valente went 3-for-6 with a double, a triple and a home run, and drove in five runs to pace the Beavers' attack. Graduate student AJ DiFillipo (Peabody, Mass.) hit a three-run homer and senior Jack Ward (Danvers, Mass.) drew three of Babson's 19 walks to go along with two RBI and two runs scored in the win.

DiFillipo gave the Green and White a 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly in the first and junior Sean Burychka (Mount Laurel, N.J.) hit a solo home run as part of a two-run second inning to make it 3-0. Junior Jack Pirkl (Brightwaters, N.Y.) produced a two-run single and Valente added an RBI double as Babson plated seven runs despite getting on three hits in the third to extend the margin to 10-0.

DiFillipo homered to right field with two outs in the fifth and the Beavers sent 15 men to the plate as part of a nine-run eighth inning uprising that included a three-run blast by Valente and a pair of bases-loaded walks to Ward. Senior Colin Rooney (Milton, Mass.) drove in the final run of game with his first career hit, an RBI triple to right with one out in the ninth.

Senior Jordy Allard (Woodstock, Vt.) breezed through six innings allowing just one run on five hits while striking out six to improve to 4-0 on the year.

Sophomore AJ Ortega (Syracuse, N.Y.) lasted just 2.1 innings for the Lions after giving up seven runs on five walks and three hits. Classmate Thai Morgan (Waldwick, N.J.) doubled as part of a two-hit day and junior Calvin Jacey (Mystic, Conn.) added an RBI single in the loss.

GAME TWO: Babson 11, Emerson 6
Valente doubled, tripled and drove in four runs, junior Thomas Lapham (Charlestown, Mass.) walked twice and added three RBI, and classmate Andrew Dembowski (Danvers, Mass.) went 1-for-3 with three walks and a run scored for the Green and White. Ward was 2-for-4 with a double and Pirkl walked once and scored three times in the victory.

Graduate student Michael Nocchi (Manasquan, N.J.) picked up his first win of year out of the bullpen as four Babson relievers combined to strikeout five while giving up just two hits in 4.2 scoreless innings. Graduate student Ben Gottesman (Acton, Mass.) started and recorded a season-high nine strikeouts but gave up five earned runs on five hits over 4.1 innings.

Sophomore Matt Nachamie (Merrick, N.Y.) went 3-for-4 with two runs scored for Emerson, which saw its pitching staff hit four batters while issuing 12 walks in the loss.

Valente drove in Lapham with a triple to center and then scored on DiFillipo's opposite-field single one batter later to give the Beavers a 2-0 lead in the first. The Lions cut their deficit in half on sophomore Jake Hatch's (Carlisle, Mass.) homer in the second before going in front 3-2 on Copeland's two-out, two-run single in the third.

Valente's two-run double capped a four-run fourth that helped Babson regain a 6-3 lead in the fourth, but Emerson pulled even in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a three-run blast by Morgan. Babson answered back in the seventh though, as Ward led off with a double and later scored on a wild pitch to spark a three-run rally.

The Beavers tacked on two more runs in the ninth without the benefit of a hit for the final margin.

Both teams conclude the regular season with doubleheaders beginning at 12 p.m. as Babson travels to Clark, while Emerson visits Springfield.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are now 21-0 all-time against Emerson.
• Babson's 19 walks in game one are a new single-game program record. The previous mark was 18 bases on balls in a 23-7 win over Edgewood on March 18, 2019.
• The 22-run margin in game one is the third highest in school history. Babson defeated WPI 26-1 on April 5, 2018, and beat Coast Guard 30-7 on April 1, 2000.
• The Beavers' pitching staff has allowed two earned runs or less in seven of 10 games this spring.