Baseball at Salem State
Saturday, March 26 | 12 p.m. (DH)
Salem State Baseball Field | Salem, Mass.
SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 4-7 all-time against Salem State in a series that dates back to 1989.
• The Beavers have won two straight against the Vikings on the heels of dropping four straight in the series from 2013-17.
• Babson's 2018 victory over Salem State was its first on the road in series history.
LAST MEETING
• Connor Gill '19 homered in the top of the first and Nicholas Browne '19 added a three-run blast with two outs in the third inning to help Babson defeat the Vikings, 6-3, on May 1, 2018, in Salem, Mass.
• Ryan Arena '18 contributed a two-run double in the ninth and Matthew Valente '20 M'21 singled twice for the Beavers, who used six different pitchers in the contest.
• Alex Toomey and Shawn Rebello both finished with three hits and drove in a run for the Vikings, who stranded 10 runners on base.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (7-4) has won a season-best three straight games after cruising past Framingham State 10-1 on Wednesday.
• Junior Francis Kiely went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI, senior Josh Yellen was 2-for-3 with three runs scored and junior Michael Cook singled twice and was one of six different players to drive in a run for the Beavers.
• Senior Sean Burychka is batting .395 with four extra-base hits and nine RBI, Kiely is hitting .355 with three doubles and eight runs batted in, and Yellen enters the weekend with a .349 average to go along with one double, eight RBI and 10 runs scored.
• Sophomore Tristen Spalter (2-0, 4.05 ERA) allowed one run over 5.2 innings to earn the win against the Rams on Wednesday, junior Anthony St. John (1-0, 2.00) has gone 7.0 innings in both his starts and classmate Stephen McLendon is 1-1 with three saves, a 2.31 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 11.2 innings of relief this spring.
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
• Salem State (8-4) has won three in a row and eight of its last 10 games overall after defeating Gordon, 10-3, on Wednesday.
• Senior Traverse Briana went 2-for-3 with a double and five RBI, while classmate Zachary Piroh was 4-for-4 with two runs batted in for the Vikings, who recorded a season-high six doubles in the win.
• Sophomore Jake Boucher is batting .413 with six extra-base hits and 15 runs scored, Piroh is hitting .366 with four doubles, four home runs and 12 RBI, and Briana (.233) has gone deep four times and leads the team with 17 runs batted in.
• Senior Juan Hurtado is 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA in 13.0 innings, junior Brock Pare is 1-1 in three starts with a 4.02 ERA and 18 strikeouts over 15.2 innings, and sophomore Greg Gentile is 1-0 with a 3.18 earned run over in five relief appearances.
STREAKING BEAVERS
• Yellen has reached base safely in all 11 games this season and 13 straight outings going back to last spring, while senior Andrew Dembowski has at least one hit in each of his six starts in 2022.
• Senior Thomas Lapham and Burychka have a hit in four and three consecutive games, respectively, while Kiely and first-year Walter Sadowsky have both reached base in each of their last five appearances.
WINNING FORMULA
• In its seven victories this spring, the Babson pitching staff has held opponents to a .209 batting average and a total of just nine extra-base hits.
• The Beavers have allowed four runs or fewer in six of seven contests and their relievers boast a 1.38 ERA and have recorded 26 strikeouts in 26.0 innings of work.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
• During its current three-game winning streak, the Green and White is batting .425 (17-for-40) with runners in scoring position.
• Babson is 7-0 this season and has won 18 games in a row when allowing five runs or less dating back to the start of the 2021 campaign.
• The Beavers are 4-0 on the year when finishing with more hits than its opponents.
UP NEXT
• Babson returns home to host Suffolk at Govoni Field on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
