PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla.—Senior Vincent Capolupo (Kenmore, N.Y.) cracked a game-winning RBI double to left center field in the bottom of the ninth inning as No. 6 Baldwin Wallace University edged Babson College, 4-3, Friday afternoon in the Snowbird Baseball Classic at Centennial Park Field 10.

With the loss, Babson drops the first of seven games on the Florida trip and falls to 1-3 overall while Baldwin Wallace is now 5-1 in Florida and 10-2 overall.

Down 3-1 after seven innings, Babson rallied for two runs in the top of the eighth to tie the score. After junior Tanner Santos (Bethany, Conn.) led off with a walk, junior Ike Kiely (Falmouth, Maine) drilled an RBI double to center field, went to third on a fly out and scored on a single up the middle by senior Michael Cook (Whitman, Mass.).

The Yellow Jackets pulled out the win in the last of the ninth when senior Andrew Parker (Toledo, Ohio) hit a leadoff double to left center and three batters later Capolupo delivered the game-winning hit.

Kiely finished with three hits, including a double, and scored a run for the Beavers, while senior Jackson Kelly (Wenonah, N.J.) had a single and a double, scored one run and drove in another.

Junior Tristen Spalter (Sergeantsville, N.J.) worked 6.1 innings for the Green and White, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk, striking out six. Sophomore Matt Milone (Amston, Conn.) pitched two innings of relief, giving up one run on four hits and fanning two, but was tagged with the loss (0-1).

Senior Luke Vonderhaar (New Bremen, Ohio) went 3-for-3 with a double, a home run and two runs scored to lead BW. Parker also had three hits, including a double and an RBI, and Capolupo had two hits and two RBI.

First-year Tyler Walker (Fairlawn, Ohio) pitched six scoreless innings for BW, giving up just four hits and striking out seven. Sophomore Kade Swisher (Berea, Ohio) pitched a scoreless ninth inning and recorded his first win (1-0).

Babson threatened in the first inning when Santos and Kelly led off with back-to-back singles, but Walker struck out the next three batters to thwart the rally. The Beavers left two runners on base in the second inning after Kiely singled and graduate student Jack Pirkl (Brightwaters, N.Y.) reached on an error but the Beavers couldn't push a run across the plate.

Vonderhaar scored the first two runs for the Yellow Jackets as he led off the bottom half of the second inning with a home run to center field, then walked in the fourth inning and later scored on a single to center by Parker.

After Kiely singled and stole second in the fourth inning but was stranded, he finally put Babson on the board on the seventh inning. He led off with a double down the left field line, went to third on an infield ground out and raced home on a two-out passed ball.

The Yellow Jackets got their two-run lead back in the bottom of the seventh on singles by Parker, senior Carl Pennington (Wadsworth, Ohio) and Capolupo.

The Beavers will play two more games in Port Charlotte against nationally ranked teams on Saturday, facing No. 22 North Central (Ill.) at 9 a.m. and No. 11 Denison at 12 p.m. Baldwin Wallace wraps up its Florida trip on Saturday against Lebanon Valley at 1 p.m.

GAME NOTES
• Babson is 2-1 all-time against Baldwin Wallace in a series that dates back to 2018.
• All three of the Beavers' losses, including two by one run, have been to Top 10 teams following two season-opening setbacks to then-No. 5 Trinity (Texas).
• Cook has hit safely in his last five games going back to last season, and Kelly has at least one knock in 14 of his last 18 games dating back to last year.