Babson Baseball at the Snowbird Classic, Port Charlotte, Fla.
vs. Heidelberg | Friday, March 8 | Centennial Park 9 | 1 p.m.
vs. No. 7 Denison | Saturday, March 9 | Centennial Park 9 | 1 p.m.
vs. No. 3 Baldwin Wallace | Saturday, March 9 | Centennial Park 10 | 4:30 p.m.
vs. North Central (Ill.) | Sunday, March 10 | Centennial Park 10 | 5 p.m.

WHAT TO KNOW
• Babson travels to Florida during the school's Spring Break for seven games overall, beginning with four contests this weekend in Port Charlotte vs. national caliber opponents, including a pair of meetings against top-10 teams.
• After starting Friday against Heidelberg, the Beavers will play against No. 7 Denison and No. 3 Baldwin Wallace on Saturday and vs. North Central (Ill.) on Sunday.
• All of Babson's games will be played at Centennial Park on 1185 Centennial Blvd., in Port Charlotte.

SERIES HISTORY
vs. Heidelberg: The Beavers and Student Princes are tied 1-1 in the all-time series which started in 2018. Heidelberg won the first game 12-3 in Florida on March 3, 2018, and Babson took the second contest 6-5 in the 2019 NCAA College World Series in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
vs. Denison: The Beavers and Big Red are 2-2 against each other in the all-time series that dates back to 1998, when Denison captured a 9-7 victory. The teams have met three times in Port Charlotte over the past two seasons, with the Big Red taking the first game 7-1 on March 15, 2022 and the Beavers winning the rematch, 10-5, two days later. Babson took last year's contest 7-4 on March 11.
vs. Baldwin Wallace: The Beavers are 2-1 all-time in a series that dates back to 2018. Babson captured a 6-5 victory over the Yellow Jackets in 2018 on a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth and earned a 3-2 victory in 2022 on a two-run single in the bottom of the eighth. BW earned its first win in the series last year, 4-3, on March 10.
vs. North Central: The Beavers are 1-2 all-time against the Cardinals in a series that dates back to 2019, when Babson pulled out a 3-2 victory in the inaugural meeting on March 17, scoring the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth. North Central took both meetings last year, 10-3 in 10 innings on March 11 and 7-1 three days later.

LAST MEETING
vs. Heidelberg: Jake Oliger '20 capped a five-run ninth-inning rally with a two-out, two-strike, two-run single as No. 7/9 Babson defeated Heidelberg, 6-5, in a College World Series elimination game on June 1, 2019, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Edward Lehr '19 and Brian McHale '19 also had ninth-inning RBIs in the rally.
vs. Denison: Sophomore Ryan Hvozdovic doubled and homered and drove in four for the Beavers in a 7-4 win over the Big Red on March 11, 2023. Senior Brant Savage also had a double and an RBI and Anthony St. John '23 worked eight innings and allowed just two earned runs on seven hits and a walk, striking out six. Charlie Glennon '23 collected three hits, including a double, and an RBI for the Big Red.
vs. Baldwin Wallace: Vincent Capolupo '23 cracked a game-winning RBI double in the bottom of the ninth as No. 6 Baldwin Wallace edged Babson, 4-3, on March 10 in the Snowbird Classic. Down 3-1 after seven, Babson rallied for two runs in the eighth to tie the score as senior Tanner Santos led off with a walk, classmate Ike Kiely drilled an RBI double to center and later scored on a single by Michael Cook '23.
vs. North Central: Luke Lamm '23 struck out seven and allowed just one run over seven innings to help 18th-ranked North Central defeat Babson, 7-1, on March 14, 2023 in Port Charlotte. Kiely and Hvozdovic both had two hits for the Beavers and Kiely drove in the only run. Dom Listi '23 went 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored, Rob Marinec '23 was 2-for-4 with a triple and three RBI and Justin Rios singled twice and knocked in a pair for the Cardinals.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (0-3) is back in action after dropping three games at No. 22 Trinity (Texas) from February 23-25 in San Antonio.
• Savage and sophomore Zander Teator had two hits apiece to lead the Beavers in the series finale, a 16-6 setback, and Santos had a single and drove in a pair. Kiely hit his first home run of the season, graduate student John Nowak contributed a pinch-hit RBI single and junior Justin Guest added a double and a stolen base.
• Sophomore James Clark struck out five in the first three innings but was tagged for six runs and took the loss. Senior Jimmy Weick had a solid outing in relief, working two scoreless innings and allowing just one hit and a walk while fanning four.
• Hvozdovic batted .400 (4-for-10) with a double, a home run and four RBI in the series while Savage hit .384 (5-for-13) with a double, two home runs, four runs scored and four RBI. Sophomore Chris Basile hit .364 and senior Jack Julian hit .333 with a double and a homer. First-year Jason Finkelstein went seven innings in his collegiate debut, allowing three hits and three earned runs while fanning five, and graduate student Greg Nieskens allowed two earned runs in five innings, striking out five, in his Babson debut.

SCOUTING THE STUDENT PRINCES
• Heidelberg (6-2), which will play Wabash on Thursday before Friday's encounter against Babson, has won four of its first five games in Florida, including a 12-5 defeat of Bluffton on Tuesday morning.
• Sophomore Braedy Limke had two doubles and a triple and knocked in four runs for the Student Princes, and junior Andrew Pokley scored four runs after reaching base four times on a single, double and two walks. Seniors Andrew Cook and Camden Farley also doubled and graduate student Thomas Sauer and senior Reece McNeely each scored twice. Cook allowed just one unearned run in 5.1 innings to earn his first win, striking out three.
• Limke (.436) has nine extra-base hits, 13 RBI and six stolen bases through eight games and Sauer (.417) has two doubles, three home runs, 10 runs and nine RBI. Graduate student Adam McVicker (.321) has scored 10 runs, and senior Cort Kramer (.368) has four RBI.
• Cook (0.00 ERA) and juniors Jackson Powers (4.50) and Corbin Caplan (8.22) each have one win in their two starts. Powers has struck out 14 batters in 10 innings and senior Dylan Matusak (2.25) has fanned 12 in eight innings.

SCOUTING THE BIG RED
• No. 7 Denison (5-1) has won five in a row after a season-opening loss to No. 20 Christopher Newport. Included in their wins are verdicts over No. 2 Salisbury, No. 10 Cortland State, and No. 11 Wisconsin-Stevens Point  in the Derby City Classic last weekend in Louisville, Ky.
• The Big Red rallied from a 7-0 deficit in the win over Stevens Point, scoring the winning run on a bases-loaded single by first-year Jack Lutte in the bottom of the ninth. Seniors Noah Leib and Jake Welsch and sophomore Cade Nowik all had three hits in the win, and Leib had a double and two RBI. Junior Manny Nager and senior George Viebrock combined for 3.2 innings of scoreless relief, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out three.
• Lutte (.462) has six hits and six RBI in his first five collegiate games, Leib (.381) has two doubles and eight RBI, and Welsch (.375) has a team-high nine RBI. Sophomore Erik Sundgren (.370) has a team-high 10 hits, including two doubles and a home run.
• Junior Nick Falter (2.16 ERA), sophomore Will Rettig (3.00) and first-year Peter Lemke (7.04) each has one win as a starter, and Falter has a team-high 14 strikeouts in 8.1 innings.

SCOUTING THE YELLOW JACKETS
• No. 3 Baldwin Wallace (5-2), which will face Stevens (N.J.) on Friday before taking on Babson on Saturday, posted a 4-1 victory over Alvernia Wednesday morning in Fort Myers.
• Junior Vince Dolcemaschio allowed just one run on four hits over seven innings, striking out eight, for his first win of the season, and sophomore Tyler Walker closed it out with two scoreless frames, fanning two and allowing just a hit and a walk. Senior Max Anastasio had two hits with a double and two RBI, junior Mally Kilbane went 3-for-4 with a double, and seniors Mark Mohnickey and Nick Clark each drove in a run for the Yellow Jackets.
• Anastasio (.474) has a double, triple and a team-high eight RBI, sophomore Trent Bucy (.429) has a pair of doubles, and classmate Jace Druschel (.412) has doubled, homered and driven in  four. Kilbane has a team-high three doubles and senior Joey Marousek (.321) has a double and four RBI.
• Dolcemaschio (1-0, 1 sv, 2.87 ERA) has struck out 13 batters in 15.2 innings, classmate Dylan Snyder (1-0, 2.25 ERA) has nine Ks in 12 innings, and Walker (1-0, 1.00 ERA) has two saves in four appearances. First-year Jake Heatherington (1-0, 1.50 ERA) has fanned eight batters in six innings of work.

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
• North Central (2-4), which will take on No. 24 Marietta on Saturday before Sunday's encounter with Babson, is coming off a 15-7 loss to then-No. 10 Denison last Sunday at the Derby City Classic in Louisville, Ky.
• The upset-minded Cardinals had a 5-1 lead through five innings before seeing Denison come from behind for the win. Senior Luke Lehnen went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored and senior Trey Roach and first-year Jackson Bland each had two hits and an RBI. Sophomore Andrew Bollman struck out five in 5.2 innings but was tagged for four runs and took the loss.
• Lehnen (.455) leads the team with 10 hits and seven runs scored, and Roach (.364) has eight hits, four extra-base hits, five runs and a team-high nine RBI. Senior Dave Fitzpatrick also has two doubles and five RBI for the Cardinals, who are batting .252 as a team.
• Sophomore Elijah Hammond (5.40 ERA), Bollman (6.23) and junior AJ Kutcher (13.50) have two starts apiece, and Hammond (8) and Bollman (7) lead the squad in strikeouts. First-year Brian Duvall (4.15) and sophomore Luke Shepski (13.50) have earned victories in relief.

NATIONALLY RANKED OPPONENTS
• Including matchups against Denison and Baldwin Wallace, five of Babson's first six games this season are against nationally ranked teams.
• The Beavers are 6-15 against ranked teams going back to the beginning of the 2022 season.

POWER SURGE
• Savage's 11 homers last season were just two shy of the program's single-season record and his 46 runs batted are tied for seventh in a single season and were the Beavers most since Jake Oliger '20 knocked in 57 runs back in 2019.
• He led the team with 18 multi-hit games and 15 multi-RBI games on the way to earning all-conference and all-region honors last spring.

BEAVER BITES
• Santos and Savage bring four-game hitting streaks into the weekend, dating back to last season.
• Santos, Savage and junior Walter Sadowsky have reached base in seven straight games, and Hvozdovic has reached in five in a row.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Beavers are 37-4 over the past three seasons when leading after six innings and 38-3 when taking a lead into the eighth inning.
• Babson has won 35 of their last 41 games when recording at least 10 hits and 40 of their last 51 when registering at least two extra-base hits.
• The Green and White have won 25 of their last 30 games when scoring in the first inning.

UP NEXT
• The Beavers wrap up their Florida trip with three games in the Gene Cusic Classic in Fort Myers -- Tuesday against Franklin & Marshall at 9 a.m., Wednesday vs. Scranton at 10 a.m. and Thursday against Pitt-Bradford at 10 a.m.