CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Sophomore Karl Meyer (Indianapolis, Ind.) and first-year Brian Rapanan (Gurnee, Ill.) combined to give up just one run 6.0 innings of relief and MIT scored four runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to rally for an 8-6 win over visiting Babson College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) baseball action on Friday afternoon at Fran O'Brien Field.

Babson, which had its nine-game winning streak snapped, slips to 20-9 overall and 9-2 in league play, while MIT improves to 10-16-1 overall and 5-6 in the NEWMAC. The teams will continue their three-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 12 p.m. at Govoni Field.

Sophomore Francis Kiely (Falmouth, Maine) went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI, while junior Jackson Kelly (Wenonah, N.H.) doubled and drove in a pair of runs as part of a two-hit day for the Beavers. Fellow junior Anthony St. John (Hopewell, N.J.) settled for a no-decision after giving up four earned runs over 6.1 innings of work.

Junior Erik Anderson (Palos Verdes, Calif.) went 3-for-4 with two RBI and junior Kyle Sonandres (Torrance, Calif.) and senior Cory O'Shea (Glen Allen, Va.) both homered for the Engineers, who finished with 14 hits. Meyer recorded his first win of the year giving up an unearned run and two hits to go along with four strikeouts over 4.2 innings, while Rapanan got the final four outs for his first save.

Kiely homered to lead off the second and the Green and White exploded for four runs in the third to build a 5-1 advantage. Kelly drove in two with a double to left, Yellen plated senior Thomas Lapham (Charlestown, Mass.) with a sacrifice fly and Kiely capped the rally with an RBI single to center.

Sonandres cut the MIT deficit to 5-3 with a solo homer in the fifth and O'Shea led off the seventh with a solo shot to make it a one-run game. Sophomore Michael Finch (Brentwood, Tenn.) gave the Engineers the lead with a two-out, two-run double off of Babson senior William Cournan (Pembroke, Mass.) and senior Nick Aiello (Freehold, N.J.) followed with another double to the gap in left center extend the margin to 7-5. Anderson then came through with an RBI single to right to cap the five-run inning.

The Beavers got a run back thanks to a two-out error by the hosts in the top of the eighth, but Rapanan got an inning-ending ground out with runners on the corners to limit the damage. Senior Josh Yellen (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) walked with one out in the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate before Rapanan used a strikeout and a ground out to shut the door.

GAME NOTES
• Babson is 55-39-1 all-time against MIT but has dropped two straight meetings going back to 2019.
• First-year Walter Sadowsky (Morristown, N.J.) extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a third-inning single, while Lapham walked in the third to reach base safely for the 21st consecutive outing.
• Friday's setback was just the second this season for the Beavers when leading after six innings.
• Babson is 5-4 this spring in games decided by one or two runs.