Baseball at No. 15. Trinity (Texas)
Game 1: Friday, Feb. 25 | 5 p.m. ET
Game 2: Saturday, Feb. 26 | 3 p.m. ET
Game 3: Sunday, Feb. 27 | 11 a.m. ET
Trinity Baseball Field | San Antonio, Texas
SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 4-5 all-time against Trinity in a series that dates back to 2017.
• The Beavers will open their season this weekend in San Antonio against the Tigers for the fourth time since 2017.
• Four of the nine games between Babson and Trinity have been decided by either one or two runs.
• The Tigers won two out of three games in 2017 and 2019 and the Beavers captured two out of three in 2020.
LAST MEETING
• Then-No. 6/29 Babson broke a 4-4 deadlock by scoring five times with two outs in the top of the ninth inning and went on to defeat then-No. 2/4 Trinity University, 9-5, in the finale of a three-game series on March 1, 2020, at the Trinity Baseball Complex.
• Senior Thomas Lapham had three hits, Sean Harrington '20 homered as part of a two-hit day, and Aidan Scott '20 went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI to lead the Beavers.
• Mason Meredith had three hits, Jack Wisniewski went 2-for-3 with a double and Michael Herrara singled twice, walked once and drove in a run for the Tigers.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (0-0) returns eight position players that saw action in at least 11 games and 29 in all from a team that finished 13-4 and reached the NEWMAC Tournament final last spring.
• Senior Jack Pirkl batted .327 with three doubles and 12 runs batted in, Lapham hit .310 with four extra-base hits and 14 RBI, and sophomore Francis Kiely earned NEWMAC Rookie of the Year honors after batting .255 with three homers, 12 RBI, five stolen bases and 14 runs scored.
• Senior Riley Teevens went 2-1 with a 3.46 ERA in three starts, junior Stephen McLendon recorded one save and did not allow a run in five relief appearances, and sophomore Tristen Spalter fanned six and walked none in 8.2 innings out of the bullpen.
• The Green and White faced only fellow NEWMAC members last spring, which included seven games against College World Series participant Wheaton.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
• No. 15 Trinity (2-1) opened the season with a pair of wins over top-10 teams as it defeated seventh-ranked Birmingham Southern 7-4 last Saturday and No. 9 Washington (Mo.) 8-3 on Sunday.
• MJ Metz went 4-for-11 (.64) with two doubles, a home run and two RBI, Jack Vonderhaar walked four times and reached base in seven of 13 plate appearances, and Ezra Gore was 3-for-12 at the dish with a homer and five runs batted in over three games last weekend.
• Joseph Chavana went 1-0 with a save in two relief appearances, while the trio of Harrison Durow, Samuel Conte and Corey Carter each went at least five innings in their respective starts and recorded 31 strikeouts in 16 innings in addition to holding opposing hitters to a .203 average.
• The Tigers went 28-9 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time since 2011 last year.
EARLY TESTS AWAIT
• The Beavers are scheduled to play nine games against teams appearing in the D3baseball.com preseason top 25.
• In addition to this weekend's three-game set at Trinity, Babson will play two against both 21st-ranked Denison and Wooster, which is receiving votes in the national poll, during its six-game trip to Port Charlotte, Fla., in mid-March.
NEWMAC COACHES MAKE THEIR PICKS
• Coming off a fourth straight conference regular season title, the Green and White was voted first on one ballot and came in second behind Wheaton in the preseason coaches' poll.
• Babson is 50-11 in NEWMAC regular season play since 2017 and in addition to its regular season success, has advanced to the conference tournament final every year going back to 2016.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
• Babson, which has played just 20 games since reaching the 2019 College World Series, is 119-42 going back to 2017 for a .739 winning percentage that ranks 10th in Division III.
• The Beavers went 9-0 last spring and have won 11 of their last 12 games dating back to 2020 when scoring at least five runs.
• The Green and White enters the 2022 campaign with at least one extra-base hit in 10 consecutive games and at least one walk in 11 straight outings.
UP NEXT
• The Beavers travel to the New England Baseball Complex in Northborough, Mass., to take on Brandeis on Saturday, March 5, at 12 p.m.
