KINGSTON, R.I.—Sophomore
Graydon Vyse (Glastonbury, Conn.) struck out five over eight innings, senior
Zander Teator (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) was 3-for-6 with a double, three RBI and three runs scored, and third-seeded Babson College scored 17 unanswered runs over the final four innings to defeat top-seeded and fourth-ranked Salve Regina, 21-2, in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament final on Sunday afternoon at Bill Beck Field.
Babson, which has now won six in a row and 10 of its last 11 games, improves to 26-15 while punching its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons and seventh time in program history. Salve Regina, which has dropped two of its last three games to slip to 36-6, is set to earn an at-large selection to the tournament when the field is announced on Monday.
Junior
Connor Frickey (Colorado Springs, Colo.) smacked his first career grand slam as part of a three-hit day while driving in five, classmate
Ryan Liss (Hollywood, Fla.) went 3-for-4 with a double, three RBI and three runs scored, and sophomores
Ben Valente (Newton, Mass.) and
Gabe Cushner (Harrington Park, N.J.) both singled and knocked in three runs for the Beavers, who pounded out 17 hits and took advantage of 11 walks. Junior
Dante D'Avanzo (Ashland, Mass.) also went 3-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored in support of Vyse (3-0), earned NEWMAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors after picking up his second win of the tournament by giving up just two runs on six hits over 8.0 innings.
Senior Sean Mulligan (Verona, N.J.) shouldered the loss after giving up four runs, just one of them earned, while striking out three over 4.0 innings for the Seahawks.
Senior
Ryan Hvozdovic (Hillsborough, N.J.) got plunked with the bases loaded to force in the game's first run in the top of the second and Liss ripped a single down the right field line to score Cushner to make it 2-0. Salve Regina got a run back in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by graduate student Brady Smolinski (North Grafton, Mass.) but Valente and Teator both singled and scored in the third, extending Babson's lead to 4-1.
The Seahawks pulled within 4-2 when Smolinski worked a nine-pitch walk and later scored on a two-out single by sophomore Danny Rogers (New Canaan, Conn.) in the bottom of the fifth before the Green and White broke the game open with a five-run sixth that included a two-run single by Teator to make it 9-2. The Beavers' first nine batters reached base in the seventh as they took advantage of four walks and a hit batsman, as well as RBI singles by Liss and D'Avanzo before Frickey extended the margin to 18-2 with a grand slam to center.
D'Avanzo had an RBI single in the eighth and Babson continued to pour it on in the ninth as Liss provided an RBI double before scoring the final run of the rout on Valente's ground out to third.
Vyse, who allowed just two hits over his final five frames, was also helped by his defense as the Beavers turned a season-high four double plays in the victory.
Babson and Salve Regina will find out where they are headed when the NCAA Tournament field is announced at 12 p.m. on Monday on NCAA.com.
GAME NOTES
• The Beavers, who won three of four meetings this season, are now 16-9 all-time against Salve Regina and a perfect 5-0 versus the Seahaks in the postseason.
• Babson has claimed four of its eight NEWMAC titles since 2017 and finished undefeated in the conference tournament for the first time since doing it in both 2017 and 2018.
• The 21 runs scored by the Beavers are their most in postseason history and the team's highest total since a 23-1 win over Emerson on April 24, 2021.
• In two NEWMAC Tournament starts this week, Vyse went 2-0 with a 3.94 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, 15 strikeouts and just two walks.
