No. 21 Baseball vs. Mitchell
NCAA Tournament | Babson Park Regional
Friday, May 17 | 1:30 p.m. 
Govoni Field | Babson Park, Mass. 

WHAT TO KNOW
•    Babson, which was selected as an NCAA Tournament regional host for the first time, welcomes No. 9/11 Salisbury, Mitchell and UMass Dartmouth to Govoni Field beginning on Friday. 
•    After starting the season 1-5 with loses to Trinity (Texas), Denison and Baldwin Wallace, the Beavers enter the NCAA Tournament having gone 29-6 over their last 35 games. 

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, May 17
Game 1: No. 9/11 Salisbury 7, UMass Dartmouth 0 
Game 2: Mitchell 4, No. 21 Babson 3

Saturday, May 18
Game 3: No. 21 Babson vs. UMass Dartmouth, 8:30 a.m.
Game 4: No. 9/11 Salisbury vs. Mitchell, 12 p.m. 
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 3:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 19
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 11 a.m. 
Game 7: if necessary, 45 minutes after conclusion of Game 6

SERIES HISTORY
vs. Mitchell
•    First meeting

vs. Salisbury
•    Babson is 0-1 all-time against the Sea Gulls after suffering a 6-1 loss on March 18, 2006, in Fort Myers, Fla. 

vs. UMass Dartmouth
•    Babson is 16-23 all-time against the Corsairs in a series that dates back to 1976.
•    The Beavers, who defeated UMass Dartmouth 10-3 back on April 1, have won 10 of the last 15 games between the teams. 

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 6th
Best NCAA Tournament Finish: advanced to the 2019 College World Series
•    No. 21 ABCA Babson (30-11) defeated Wheaton 8-2 and 5-3 to claim its first NEWMAC Tournament championship since 2018 on Sunday afternoon. 
•    The Beavers rank 30th in Division III in WHIP (1.39), 34th in hits allowed per nine innings (8.63) and 46th in fielding percentage (.968). 
•    Senior Tanner Santos is batting .366 with eight extra-base hits, 21 stolen bases, 27 RBI and 39 runs scored, classmate Brant Savage is hitting .333 with 21 doubles, eight home runs, 37 RBI and 33 runs scored, and graduate student Luke Tanner enters the regional with a .314 average to go along with 13 doubles, two triples, four homers, 37 RBI and 34 runs scored. 
•    Graduate student Greg Nieskens (3-2, 3.73 ERA) and first-year Jason Finkelstein (8-2, 5.11 ERA) both picked up a win in the conference tournament, sophomore James Clark is 5-2 with a 5.49 ERA in 10 starts and classmate Zander Teator (4-1, 6 saves) boasts a 2.57 ERA and a 0.71 WHIP to go along with 26 strikeouts in 21.0 innings out of the bullpen. 

SCOUTING THE MARINERS
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 9th
Best NCAA Tournament Finish: reached the regional final in 2023
•    Mitchell (32-11) swept Johnson & Wales in the GNAC Tournament championship series to claim its fourth straight conference title. 
•    The Mariners rank sixth in Division III in triples (22), 38th in slugging percentage (.480) and 42nd nationally in both runs (358) and hits (463). 
•    Cole Lalli is batting .393 with 16 doubles, seven home runs and 52 runs batted in, Michael Ficocelli is hitting .378 with 16 doubles, three triples, one homer, 31 RBI and 41 runs scored, and Chas Terni Jr. enters the regional with a .316 average to go along with 12 doubles, eight dingers, 39 RBI and 39 runs scored.
•    Chris Gibbs (9-1, 3.30 ERA) has recorded 66 strikeouts in 71.0 innings, Camren Varney (4-1, 4 saves) has a 3.36 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 61.2 innings pitched, and Jacob Quiles has gone 6-3 with two saves, a 4.35 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 49.2 innings over 15 appearances this spring. 

SCOUTING THE SEA GULLS
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 28th
Best NCAA Tournament Finish: 2021 National Champions 
•    No. 9 D3baseball/No. 11 ABCA Salisbury (28-9), which has seeking its fourth straight College World Series appearance, received an at-large bid after losing to Mary Washington in a Coast-2-Coast Tournament semifinal. 
•    The Sea Gulls rank third in Division III in OBP (.444), 16th in slugging percentage (.500) and 18th in runs per game (9.1). 
•    Andrew Kell leads Division III in batting average (.509) to go along with 15 doubles, two triples, six home runs, 43 RBI and 41 runs scored, Tim Petrucelli is batting .377 with 15 doubles, 11 homers, 47 RBI and 41 runs scored, and Dylan Winebrenner is hitting .352 with nine doubles, six dingers, 26 RBI and 35 runs scored. 
•    Aidan Brinsfield (4-0, 4.47 ERA) has recorded 44 strikeouts in 50.1 innings, Ethan Hirschfeld is 4-2 with a 3.33 ERA in 46.0 innings, Cole Williams (8-1, 4.02 ERA) has 40 strikeouts in 47.0 innings of work over 21 relief appearances and Garrett Beaver (3-2, 3 saves) owns a 2.89 ERA and is holding opposing hitters to a .174 average to go along with 36 strikeouts in 37.1 innings pitched.  

SCOUTING THE CORSAIRS
NCAA Tournament Appearance: 8th
Best NCAA Tournament Finish: reached the regional final in both 1992 and 1998
•    UMass Dartmouth (24-18-1) went unbeaten in the Little East Conference Tournament to earn its first league title and NCAA bid since 2000. 
•    The Corsairs rank 22nd in Division III in stolen bases per game (2.84), 30th in shutouts (4) and 53rd in strikeouts per nine innings (8.6). 
•    Devyn Vezina is batting .386 with eight extra-base hits, 13 stolen bases, 40 RBI and 40 runs scored, Andrew Possi is hitting .374 with 10 doubles, two triples, 27 RBI and 34 runs scored, and Joe Muzio owns a .316 average to go along with 13 doubles, four home runs, 17 stolen bases, 23 RBI and 39 runs scored. 
•    Adam Maher (6-2, 2.89 ERA) boasts a 0.94 WHIP and has held opposing hitters to a .178 average while recording 83 strikeouts in 53.0 innings, Anthony Keefe is 2-1 with a 3.62 ERA in 32.1 innings and Ryan Qualey has gone 3-3 with a 5.20 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 64.0 innings over 11 starts this spring. 

THE CHAMPS ARE HERE
•    Thanks to three wins in less than 24 hours, Babson captured the program's first NEWMAC Tournament title since 2018 on Sunday at Govoni Field. 
•    The Beavers bounced back from a 5-2 loss to Wheaton with an 8-1 victory over fourth-ranked Salve Regina on Saturday and then defeated the Lyons twice on Sunday at Govoni Field. 
•    The Green and White, which was within a game of claiming conference championships in both 2021 and 2023 before being defeated twice by Wheaton, was able to turn the tables on the Lyons last weekend. 

POSTSEASON SUCCESS
•    Although they are making their first appearance since 2019, the Beavers last three trips to the NCAA Tournament have featured 13 wins, a pair of regional final appearances and one College World Series berth. 
•    Babson advanced to the 2017 Harwich Regional final before falling to UMass Boston and came within a game of winning the York (Pa.) Regional in 2018 by winning its first three games before being defeated twice by Misericordia. 
•    The Green and White broke through in 2019 though capturing the Hartford Regional with a victory over Trinity before sweeping Cortland in a best-of-three super regional at Govoni Field to reach the College World Series for the first time. 

NOONE REACHES 500-WIN MILESTONE
•    Thanks to last Saturday's 8-1 victory over Salve Regina, head coach Matt Noone earned the 500th win of his career. 
•    One of 32 active Division III coaches with at least 500 wins and a .600 winning percentage, Noone has led the Beavers to five NEWMAC championships and six NCAA Tournament appearances. 
•    Noone has led the Beavers to three seasons of 30 or more wins three times since 2018, which includes a school-record 39 victories in 2019 and 35 in 2018. 

SAVAGE, SANTOS, KIELY EARN NEWMAC ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
•    Savage and Santos both garnered all-league first-team recognition, while senior Ike Kiely was named to the All-NEWMAC second team when the conference released its postseason awards earlier this week. 
•    Savage was an all-conference first-team selection for the second consecutive season while Kiely, the 2021 NEWMAC Rookie of the Year, and Santos both collected their first all-league honors. 

RECORD-SETTING SAVAGE
•    Savage, who homered in each game on Sunday against Wheaton on the way to earning NEWMAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors, has eight bombs this season and ranks fourth on Babson's career list with 20 dingers, all but one of which have come over the last two seasons. 
•    His 21 doubles this spring broke the previous single-season mark of Dave Ahern '11 and his 101 total bases are tied for seventh most in a single season. 

VETERAN STARTERS SET THE TONE
•    Nieskens and senior Tristen Spalter combined to allow just two runs over 16.0 innings to help Babson force the if necessary game in the NEWMAC Tournament last weekend. 
•    Spalter allowed just one run and scattered six hits in his longest outing of the season (7.0 IP) in Saturday's win at Salve Regina, while Nieskens tossed his second complete game of the year, striking out six and giving up one earned run on six hits, in Sunday's 8-2 triumph over Wheaton. 
•    Saturday's victory was especially sweet for Spalter, who missed two months of the season after getting injured in the season opener at Trinity (Texas) back on February 23, and had pitched just 5.1 innings over four appearances prior to his performance against the fourth-ranked Seahawks. 

PRODUCING AT THE PLATE AND FLASHING THE LEATHER
•    Tanner, who has at least one hit in 15 of the last 16 games, picked up his team-high seventh outfield assist to help cut down the go-ahead run in the fifth inning of last Sunday's championship game against Wheaton. 
•    He is error free in 105 chances while splitting his time between right and center field this spring and enters the NCAA Tournament having reached base safely in 20 straight games. 

SHUT DOWN BOYS
•    In 31 games since returning from their spring break trip to Florida, the bullpen quartet of Teator, graduate student Zach Magee, junior Luke McClintock and senior Jimmy Weick boasts a 5-1 record, seven saves and a 2.45 ERA while helping the Beavers to a 22-0 record when leading after six innings.
•    Teator has gone 4-0 with six saves, a 0.95 ERA, a 0.58 WHIP and is holding opposing hitters to a .111 average in his closer role, Magee has one save and has recorded 19 strikeouts in 15.2 innings, McClintock boasts a 1.15 earned run average and Weick has made 14 appearances and picked up his first postseason win at Coast Guard back on May 9. 

PRODUCING IN THE POSTSEASON
•    Santos batted .455 with a team-high 10 hits and a .520 on-base percentage in five NEWMAC Tournament starts last week. 
•    Graduate student John Nowak homered twice and produced a team-high 10 RBI, while Savage, Kiely and senior Luca Rubin all knocked in five runs for the Beavers. 
•    Junior Justin Guest batted .333 (7-for-21) with two doubles, two RBI and five runs scored to go along with a .481 OBP in six starts. 
•    On the mound, Teator recorded three saves and struck out five over 4.1 scoreless innings of work out of the bullpen, while junior Matt Milone made a pair of relief appearances going 1-0 with two strikeouts in addition to holding opposing hitters to a .111 average. 

HOME SWEET HOME
•    Babson has gone 21-1 this season at Govoni Field while hitting .309 as a team with 47 doubles and nine home runs on offense to go along with a 2.97 team ERA on the mound. 
•    Nowak is batting .400 with three homers and 18 RBI in 15 starts, Kiely is hitting .364 with three doubles and 14 runs batted in, and Savage owns a .356 average to go along with 15 doubles, three homers and 20 RBI in 22 starts at home this spring. 
•    Clark is 4-0 with a 3.10 ERA in five starts, Finkelstein is 5-0 with a 3.42 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 26.1 innings and the duo of McClintock (1-0, 1.27 ERA, 21.1 IP) and Milone (1-0, 1.59 ERA, 17.0 IP) are both holding opposing hitters to an average of below .200.  

STREAKING BEAVERS
•    In addition to Tanner's 20-game on-base streak, Nowak has reached safely in each of his 30 starts this spring. 
•    Santos and junior Walter Sadowsky have reached base safely in eight and five straight outings, respectively, while Savage, Santos and Rubin all are riding three-game hitting streaks. 
•    Guest has a hit in nine of his last 10 games. 
•    Senior Jack Julian has made just one error in his last 63 chances at shortstop over the last 13 games and has been error free in seven consecutive outings going back to May 5. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW
•    The Beavers are 22-3 this season when scoring first and 12-3 when scoring in the first inning. 
•    Babson is 24-3 when allowing five runs or fewer on the year. 
•    The Green and White is 25-1 when leading after six innings.
•    The Beavers are 11-3 in games decided by one or two runs. 
•    Babson is 25-2 when its pitchers allow two extra-base hits or fewer this spring. 
•    The Green and White is 22-4 when outhitting its opponents. 

UP NEXT
•    The winner of the Babson Park Regional will face the winner of the Cortland Regional (Salve Regina, Cortland, Washington & Jefferson, Colby) in next weekend's super regionals.