HARTFORD, Conn.—Sophomores
Gabe Cushner (Harrington Park, N.J.),
Brooks Saft (New Hope, Pa.) and
Ben Valente (Newton, Mass.) each doubled and drove in three runs, and visiting Babson College recorded a season-high eight extra-base hits on the way to defeating Trinity College, 14-10, in non-conference baseball action on Wednesday afternoon at Murren Family Field at DiBenedetto Stadium.
With its sixth consecutive victory and eighth win its last nine outings, Babson improves to 10-7 on the year. Trinity has dropped back-to-back games to drop to 11-5 on the season.
Valente was 3-for-5 with two runs scored, Cushner finished with two hits and senior
Owen Stephens (Glastonbury, Conn.) and sophomore
Gabe Harmon (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) both had two hits, including a double, and scored three times apiece to lead the Beavers' 15-hit attack. Junior
Dante D'Avanzo (Ashland, Mass.) went 2-for-3 with a double, first-year
Bobby Christensen (Scotch Plains, N.J.) doubled and drove in two, and sophomore
Dillon James (Attleboro, Mass.) picked up his first career win recording four strikeouts and giving up just two runs over five innings out of the bullpen.
Senior Tyler Bernstein (Ponte Vedra Beach, Calif.) was 3-for-6 with three RBI, classmate Dylan Schnitzer (Huntington, N.Y.) doubled and knocked in three runs, and fellow senior Andrew Park (Flushing, N.Y.) and first-year Timmy Domizio (Fairfield, Conn.) both homered for the Bantams, who finished with 12 hits in the loss. First-year Matthew Limongelli (Sierra Madre, Calif.) suffered the loss after giving up four runs on three hits and a walk in 0.2 innings.
Cushner gave the Green and White a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, which was quickly erased as Bernstein recorded a two-run single and Schnitzer followed with a two-run double as Trinity scored five times in the bottom of the frame. Valente and Cushner provided RBI doubles in a three-run third, but Dimizio hit the first pitch he saw from junior
Tristan Pearl (New Canaan, Conn.) over the right field fence to key the hosts in front 6-4.
Pearl worked around a pair of walks later in the inning and Babson sent 12 men to the plate while scoring eight times in the top of the fourth to jump in front for good. Christensen brought home Stephens with a sacrifice fly and Valente followed with an RBI single through the right side to tie the game before graduate student
Ryan Grace (Concord, Mass.) doubled to center to bring home Harmon for a 7-6 advantage.
Cushner brought home another run when he was plunked with the bases loaded and Saft followed with a bases-clearing double to right that expanded Babson's lead to 11-6. Stephens, who scored the first run of the inning, raced home on an error following an infield single by D'Avanzo to give the visitors their largest lead of the game at 12-6.
Park hit a two-run shot to cut the Bantams' deficit to four in the bottom of the fourth, but James came on to start the fifth and retired six of the first seven batters he faced before the Beavers tacked on two more insurance runs thanks to an RBI double by Christensen and an RBI single to left by Valente to make it 14-8.
James stranded runners on the corners with a comebacker to end the eighth and then worked around a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth to close out the victory.
Babson is back in action on Saturday when it hosts UMass Boston for a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m., while the Bantams open a three-game series with Williams on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are now 10-12 all-time against Trinity and Wednesday's victory was their third in a row in the series going back to the 2019 NCAA Tournament Hartford Regional final.
• Babson is now 9-1 this season when scoring at least six runs and has won its last 26 games when scoring 10 or more runs dating back to 2024.
• The Beavers' seven doubles in Wednesday's win are their most since April 23, 2016, when they recorded seven in a 14-0 victory over Emerson.
• Babson has now won at least six game in a row in every full season (excluding 2020 and 2021) since 2017.
