PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla.—Babson College got strong starts from seniors Tim Noone (Needham, Mass.) and Anthony St. John (Hopewell, N.J.) and split a pair of games against nationally-ranked opponents at the Snowbird Classic on Saturday afternoon.

The Beavers dropped the opener to No. 22 North Central (Ill.) 10-3 in 10 innings before rebounding with a 7-4 victory over No. 11/18 Denison University in game two.

With the split, Babson is now 1-2 on the Florida trip and 2-4 overall, with all four losses against nationally ranked teams, while North Central is 6-2 overall and Denison is 5-1 going into Saturday's game against Mitchell.

North Central (Ill.) 10, Babson 3 (10 inn.)
Junior Brant Savage (Charlton, Mass.) went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and Noone struck out nine and allowed just two hits over 7.0 shutout innings in a no-decision for the Beavers.

Sophomore Michael Scumaci (Orland Park, Ill.) went 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored, junior Luke Lehnen (Chatham, Ill.) was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs batted in and first-year Nolan King (Glen Ellyn, Ill. ) singled and scored twice for the Cardinals, who erupted for eight runs in the top of the 10th inning. Junior Nolan Shannon (McHenry, Ill.) improved to 2-0 with the win in relief of senior Jason Shanner (St. Charles, Ill.), who fanned three and allowed two runs on three hits over 6.0 innings.

Savage's two-run blast to left field gave the Green and White the lead in the top of the second and Noone worked around a leadoff single by Lehnen in the second and a double by Davis to start the bottom of the fifth by retiring the final nine batters he faced. North Central pulled even on Scumaci's two-run homer in the top of the eighth and forced extra innings when Shannon induced a line-drive double play with runners on second and third in the bottom of the ninth.
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The Cardinals recorded eight hits, including a two-run double by Lehnen, and pushed across eight runs while sending 13 men to the plate in the top of the 10th to break the game open.

Babson 7, Denison 4
First-year Ryan Hvozdovic (Hillsborough, N.J.) doubled and homered and drove in four runs in the win for the Beavers. Junior Brant Savage (Charlton, Mass.) also had a double and an RBI and senior Michael Cook (Whitman, Mass.) had a single with a run scored and a run batted in.

St. John earned his first win of the season (1-0), working eight innings and allowing just two earned runs on seven hits and a walk, striking out six. Sophomore Luke McClintock (South Hamilton, Mass.) closed out the game in the ninth inning after giving up a run on two hits and a walk, fanning one.

Senior Charlie Glennon (New Rochelle, N.Y.) collected three hits, including a double, and an RBI for the Big Red, while sophomore Eric Colaco (Richfield, Ohio) had a single and a double and scored two runs. Sophomore Manny Nager (Gates Mills, Ohio) pitched four innings of solid relief, allowing just one run on two hits and three walks while striking out six.

Denison jumped on top with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Colaco doubled to right center and scored on Glennon's double down the left field line. Glennon then stole third and came home on an infield error.

The Beavers took the lead with four runs in the third inning. After graduate student Jack Pirkl (Brightwaters, N.Y.) reached on an error and junior Tanner Santos (Bethany, Conn.) and senior Patrick Manning (Weymouth, Mass.) singled to load the bases with one out, Hvozdovic brought home a run with a ground out and Cook knocked in a run with an infield single. Manning scored on the back end of a double steal and Savage capped the rally with an RBI double to left.

The teams traded runs in the seventh inning. Senior Michael O'Brien (Medford, Mass.) drew a leadoff walk for Babson and scored on a two-out double to left by Hvozdovic, and junior Owen Wilson (Charlotte, N.C.) hit a one-out double to left center for Denison and scored on a double to left by junior Colin Ravin (Charlotte, N.C.).

Babson tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth as Manning was hit by a pitch with two out and Hvozdovic followed with a two-run shot over the right field fence. Denison got one run back in the bottom half of the inning when Colaco and Glennon singled, senior Ari Fierer (Denver, Colo.) walked to load the bases and Colaco scored on a sacrifice fly by junior Jake Welsch (Glenmoore, Pa.), but McClintock got the final out on a fly ball to center to close out the win.

The Beavers will be back on the diamond on Sunday against Wooster at 3 p.m.

GAME NOTES
• Babson is now 1-1 all-time against North Central in a series that dates back to 2019, and the Beavers are 2-2 all-time against Denison in a series that dates back to 1998.
• Noone boasts a 1.29 ERA and has recorded 14 strikeouts in 14.0 innings over two starts this spring.
• Cook extended his hitting streak to six games with his third-inning single against Denison.
• Three of the Beavers' four losses have come by one run or in extra innings.