BABSON PARK, Mass.—Three members of the Babson College baseball team had three players recognized when the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and D3baseball.com announced their all-region teams on Tuesday.
Graduate student
Ryan Grace (Concord, Mass.) was named to ABCA Region I first team, junior
Jason Finkelstein (Walpole, Mass.) earned a spot on the ABCA Region I second team and sophomore
Ben Valente (Newton, Mass.) was an ABCA Region I third-team selection. Grace also claimed a spot on the D3baseball.com Region I second team.
A transfer from Colby College, Grace started 36 games and led the Beavers in batting average (.368), doubles (11), home runs (9), RBI (40), total bases (87), on-base percentage (.491), slugging percentage (.654) and OPS (1.145). He also was second on the squad in both hits (49) and walks (27), and third with 40 runs scored despite missing the entire postseason after suffering an injury on the final day of the regular season.
Grace, who was named to the All-New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) first team, also led the squad with 15 multi-hit and 13 multi-RBI games, and reached base safely in 34 of his 36 starts. His nine homers this spring are tied for fifth on the program's single-season list.
Finkelstein, who garnered NEWMAC first-team honors, put together the best season of his career going 5-2 with one save, a 3.23 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 61.1 innings pitched over 12 appearances on the mound. He recorded the lowest ERA and WHIP (1.16) of his career, held opposing batters to a .203 average and ranked 31st in Division III allowing 6.60 hits per nine innings.
Finkelstein was at his best late in the season going 4-0 with a 1.70 ERA, a 0.97 WHIP and 34 strikeouts in 37.0 innings while holding opposing batters to a .183 average over his final five starts to earn all-region recognition for the first time in his career. He also allowed just three extra-base hits during this stretch and just six doubles and two home runs on the year.
A two-time all-league selection, Finkelstein is 16-7 with a 3.84 earned run average and 143 strikeouts over 173.1 innings pitched over three seasons at Babson. He is tied for fourth on the program's career wins list and ranks sixth in strikeouts.
Valente, who earned both all-conference and all-region accolades for the first time, appeared in 39 games and made 38 starts in the outfield batting .350 with seven doubles, a triple, two home runs, 18 stolen bases, 34 RBI and 50 runs scored. He finished second on the team in both multi-hit (14) and multi-RBI games (10), and was second on the team with 71 total bases.
Valente had at least one hit in 34 contests and reached base safely in 36 of 39 games, which included a 30-game streak from March 19-May 8. He also became just the third player in Babson history to score 50 runs in a season and his 56 hits are the second most since 2019.
The Beavers captured their second NEWMAC championship in the past three seasons and recorded their first NCAA Tournament win since 2019 on the way to finishing the year at 27-17.
