BABSON PARK, Mass.—Three members of the Babson College baseball team were recognized for their success on the diamond when the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) announced its All-Conference teams on Wednesday afternoon.
Junior
Jason Finkelstein (Walpole, Mass.) and graduate student
Ryan Grace (Concord, Mass.) were named to the All-NEWMAC First Team, while sophomore
Ben Valente (Newton, Mass.) garnered Second Team accolades. The All-NEWMAC teams are chosen by a vote of the conference head coaches.
A junior righthander,
Finkelstein has made eight starts and 11 appearances on the mound for the Beavers, posting a 5-2 record with one save and a 3.31 earned run average, striking out 44 and allowing 41 hits in 54.1 innings. He has gone at least seven innings and allowed two earned runs or fewer in his last four starts, including eight shutout innings giving up just three hits and equaling his career high with nine strikeouts in a win over Clark, and working seven frames conceding just one earned run and five hits with seven Ks in a win over WPI. He also pitched a perfect ninth inning in a 2-1 win over Tufts for his first career save. He leads the NEWMAC in opponents batting average against (.208), is tied for third in the league in wins, and ranks fifth in ERA, sixth in innings pitched, and eighth in strikeouts.
A second team all-conference selection in 2025, Finkelstein has made 26 starts among his 35 career appearances, registering a 16-7 record with a 3.90 earned run average and giving up 155 hits in 166.1 innings while fanning 136. His 16 victories rank tied for fourth on Babson's career wins list and his 136 strikeouts are ninth all-time in program history.
Grace earned his first All-NEWMAC selection as a utility player after seeing action for Babson at first base and designated hitter. He started all 36 of his appearances and leads the team with a .368 batting average along with 27 walks, 11 doubles, nine home runs, 40 runs batted in, 40 runs scored, a .654 slugging percentage and a 1.145 OPS. He started the season with a nine-game hitting streak and had three other seven-game hit streaks, producing at least one hit in 31 of his 36 games with 14 multi-hit outings. He ranks fourth in the NEWMAC in RBI and OPS, fifth in home runs and slugging percentage, sixth in walks, seven in on-base percentage, tied for 10th in doubles, 15th in batting average.
Grace joined the Beavers this season after transferring from Colby, where he batted .321 in 107 career starts with 37 doubles, 14 home runs, 103 RBI, 51 walks, a .525 slugging percentage and a .416 on-base percentage.
Valente had a breakout season in his first year as a starter in the Babson outfield, earning his first all-conference honor. He started 35 of his 36 appearances and ranks second on the team with a .356 batting average with a team-high 52 hits along with six doubles, a triple, two home runs, 34 RBI and a team-high 46 runs scored, as well as stealing 17 bases in 18 attempts. He had hitting streaks of 10 and 14 games and produced 13 multi-hit outings. He is ranked ninth in the NEWMAC in hits, 10th in both RBI and stolen bases and 19th in batting average.
A reserve who saw action in five games as a first-year in 2025, Valente appeared in four games and four innings as a pitcher.
The Beavers went 4-0 in the NEWMAC Tournament to capture their second conference championship in the last three seasons and will take 26-15 record into the NCAA Tournament on Friday at Southern Maine at 2:30 p.m. The Green and White have won five in a row and 10 of their last 11 games and will be making their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017 and the seventh overall in program history.
