Baseball at No. 8/11 Wheaton
NEWMAC Tournament | Game 7
Monday, May 8 | 11 a.m.
Sidell Stadium | Norton, Mass.
HOW WE GOT HERE
• Third-seeded Babson followed Saturday's 4-2 win over Clark with a 9-3 victory over No. 8/11 Wheaton on Sunday to get within one win of claiming its first NEWMAC Tournament championship since 2018.
• The Lyons defeated MIT 6-5 in 12 innings on Saturday and rebounded from the loss to the Beavers by pulling away for a 9-2 win over the Engineers in an elimination game on Sunday afternoon. Wheaton must beat Babson twice to claim its third consecutive conference tournament title.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, May 5
Game 1: No. 4 MIT 14, No. 5 Springfield 2
Friday, May 6
Game 2: No. 1 Wheaton 6, No. 4 MIT 5 (12 inn.)
Game 3: No. 3 Babson 4, No. 2 Clark 2
Saturday, May 7 (at Wheaton)
Game 4: No. 4 MIT 13, No. 3 Clark 3
Game 5: No. 3 Babson 9, No. 1 Wheaton 3
Game 6: No. 1 Wheaton 9, No. 4 MIT 2
Monday, May 8 (at Wheaton)
Game 7: No. 3 Babson at No. 1 Wheaton, 11 a.m.
Game 8: if necessary, 2 p.m.
SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 33-55 all-time against Wheaton in a series that dates back to 1998.
• The Beavers have dropped nine straight games to the Lyons following a stretch that saw them win 10 of 11 contests in the series between 2017-19.
• Wheaton defeated Babson 4-1 in Norton, Mass., on April 28 and swept a doubleheader at Govoni Field by winning 2-1 and 11-1 in seven innings on April 29.
• The Green and White is also looking for its first win at Sidell Stadium since May 2019.
POSTSEASON HISTORY
• Babson is 11-13 all-time against Wheaton in the NEWMAC Tournament, which has seen the teams meet at least once in every championship going back to 2016.
• The Beavers are 5-10 all-time in the postseason against the Lyons at Sidell Stadium.
• The teams have combined to win five of the last six NEWMAC championships since 2016.
LAST MEETING
• First-year Chris Basile went 3-for-5 with two RBI and scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Beavers rallied for a 6-5 win over Clark on April 25 in Babson Park.
• Graduate student Ryan Noone and first-year Ryan Hvozdovic both singled twice and drove in a run for the Beavers, who trailed 4-0 after two innings and scored three times in the eighth inning.
• Sophomore Tyler Jones was 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI for the Cougars, who made a pair of errors in the decisive eighth inning.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Third-seeded Babson (22-16) has dropped three straight games and suffered an 11-1 loss to No. 11/14 Wheaton in its regular season finale last Saturday.
• Senior Patrick Manning had an RBI double and Basile singled for the Beavers, who were limited to just two hits over seven innings.
• Senior Michael Cook is batting .333 with seven extra-base hits, 26 RBI and 21 runs scored, junior Brant Savage is hitting .333 with nine doubles, 10 home runs, 43 runs batted in and 34 runs scored, and Basile enters the tournament with a .331 average to go along with five extra-base hits, 25 RBI and 26 runs scored.
• Senior Tim Noone (4-2, 2.14 ERA) has recorded a league-high 67 strikeouts in 63.0 innings and is holding opposing hitters to a .202 average, classmate Anthony St. John (5-2, 3.05 ERA) has walked just five batters in 56.0 innings and junior Tristen Spalter (2-2, 3.56 ERA) has fanned 44 hitters in 60.2 innings.
SCOUTING THE LYONS
• No. 8/11 Wheaton has won 10 consecutive games and downed MIT 6-5 in 12 innings in its NEWMAC Tournament opener on Saturday.
• Nick Croteau went 3-for-5 with an RBI, Timmy Wagner drove in a pair of first-inning runs and Tommy Ambrosone scored on an error in the bottom of the 12th inning for the Lyons, who led 5-1 before allowing four runs in the top of the eighth.
• Junior AJ Guindon is batting .401 with 18 extra-base hits, 32 RBI and 56 runs scored, senior Cavan Brady is hitting .395 with 19 doubles, five home runs and 63 runs batted in, and sophomore Kevin Matos boasts a .309 average to go along with seven doubles, 11 homers, 38 RBI and 39 runs scored.
• Senior Zach Clesas is 6-1 with a 3.42 ERA in 55.1 innings, junior Liam Goldthwaite (6-1, 3.25 ERA) has walked just four batters in 44.1 innings and senior Zach Nichols is 0-1 with five saves, a 2.22 earned run average and 41 strikeouts in 24.1 innings out of the bullpen this spring.
WINNING FORMULA
• Junior Tanner Santos is batting .346 and has registered 24 of his league-leading 35 walks and 19 of his conference-best 23 stolen bases in Babson's 22 wins this spring.
• Savage has eight homers and 36 RBI, while 24 of Hvozdovic's 26 runs batted in have come in victories this season.
• Noone, Cook and Basile are all hitting .370 or better and have each driven in 20 runs in the Beavers' 22 wins on the year.
MOVING UP THE CHARTS
• Savage's 10 home runs rank fourth in single-season program history behind only Ryan Arena '18 (13 in 2017, 11 in 2018) and Nicholas Browne '19, who hit 12 as a senior in 2019.
• Santos' 23 stolen bases are just two shy of Babson's single-season record of 25 set by Adam Ayala back in 2016. His 35 walks are also tied for fourth in a single season.
• Noone's 67 strikeouts are tied for fifth in single-season program history and he is just 12 away from the record of 79 set by Teddy Carey '18 in 2017.
PITCHING PROWESS
• The Beavers currently rank first in Division III allowing just 2.06 walks per nine innings, rank fourth nationally with a 3.29 strikeout-to-walk ratio and are 12th with a 1.26 WHIP.
• Individually, St. John (4th), Spalter (20th) and Noone (30th) are all among the Division III leaders allowing fewer than 1.3 walks per nine innings and Noone (7.44) and St. John (6.20) rank 14th and 30th, respectively, in strikeout-to-walk ratio.
ANSWERING THE CALL
• Senior Tim Person factored into both wins over Clark tossing 3.2 innings of relief to earn the win in the Beavers' 7-6 12-inning victory over the Cougars in Worcester on April 18 before recording the final three outs for his first career save in last Tuesday's 6-5 triumph in Babson Park.
• He is 2-2 on the year with a 4.34 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 18.2 innings and has allowed just two earned runs over his last 16.1 innings of work dating back to March 11.
PLAYING THE FIELD
• Babson ranks second in the conference and 27th in Division III with a .970 fielding percentage.
• The Beavers have made more than one error just three times over their last 18 outings and are 12-3 on the year in games when they do not make an error.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
• Babson is 5-1 in the opening round of the NEWMAC Tournament since 2016, which includes road victories at Springfield in both 2021 and 2022.
• The Beavers have scored six or more runs in 19 of their 22 wins this season.
• Babson is 16-1 when recording 10 or more hits and 20-3 when its finishes with at least two extra-base hits.
• The Green and White is 19-1 this season when leading after seven innings.
UP NEXT
• The winner of Sunday's contest will advance to Monday's tournament final, while the loser will face an elimination game against either Clark or MIT at 3:30 p.m.
