BABSON PARK, Mass.—Graduate student Brandon Grover (Ashland, Mass.) hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the top of the sixth inning to help No. 13 D3baseball.com/No. 14 ABCA Salve Regina University defeat No. 29 Babson College, 5-3, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) baseball action on Monday afternoon at Govoni Field. 

Babson, which has dropped two straight games, is now 14-8 overall and 4-4 in conference play. Salve Regina has won five of its last seven contests to improve to 17-7 overall and 6-3 in the NEWMAC. 

Senior Justin Guest (West Windsor, N.J.) went 3-for-4 with a walk and a run scored, junior Chris Basile (Miami Beach, Fla.) doubled and drove in a run, and graduate student Tanner Santos (Bethany, Conn.) added an RBI single to lead the Beavers. Sophomore Jason Finkelstein (Walpole, Mass.) started an earned a no-decision after giving up three runs over 4.1 innings, while junior James Clark (Northborough, Mass.) dropped 2-2 on the year with the loss. 

Grover went 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored, while graduate students Tyler Petrosino (Beverly, Mass.) and Hunter Yaworski (Brooklyn, Conn.) and junior Evan O'Rourke (Arlington, Mass.) added two hits apiece to pace the Seahawks. Junior Joe DeRienzo (Trumbull, Conn.) struck out six over 4.0 shutout innings of work to earn the win and improve to 1-1 on the year, while senior Andrew Wertz (Dover, N.H.) picked up his fifth save. 

Grover led off the game with a single and later scored on a sacrifice fly by O'Rourke before the Green and White answered with three runs in the bottom of the frame. Junior Zander Teator (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) raced home on a wild pitch after getting plunked, Basile plated Guest with an RBI ground out and Santos ripped a single to right field to score sophomore Ryan Liss (Hollywood, Fla.) for a 3-1 lead. 

Salve Regina pulled within one on Grover's RBI single in the second and tied the game in the fifth on a one-out base hit to right by Yaworski. Babson junior Connor Doan (Pasadena, Texas) escaped a bases loaded jam, but Grover blasted a two-run homer to straight-away center in the top of the six to put the Seahawks in front for good. 

The Beavers left the bases loaded in the third and stranded two more runners in the fourth, and had a chance to take the lead following Basile's one-out double to the gap in right center in the fifth before DeRienzo worked out of trouble with a ground out and strikeout. DeRienzo got another punch out with runners on second and third to end the sixth and retired the final seven batters he faced before handing the ball to Wertz for the ninth. 

Guest beat out an infield single to bring the potential tying run to the plate but Wertz induced a 6-4-3 double play to end the game. 

Both teams are back in action on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. as Babson hosts Lasell, while Salve Regina travels to Clark. 

GAME NOTES
•    The Beavers are now 13-8 all-time against the Seahawks. 
•    Babson is now 4-4 on the year in games decided by one or two runs. 
•    Santos and Liss have now reached base safely in 17 and 16 games, respectively, while Guest leads the Green and White with eight multi-hit games. 
•    The Beavers got plunked three times on Monday and have reached base via hit by pitch 19 times over the last eight contests.