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March 16, 2008
Box Score (Game 1) | Box Score (Game 2)
FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Babson baseball team split a doubleheader with Saint Mary's University in Florida on Sunday afternoon, as the Beavers won the opener, 9-6, and lost the nightcap, 7-6, to move to 4-2 with two games remaining on its southern trip. Playing as the visiting team, the Beavers jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in game one, beginning with a three-run first. Junior Bryan Evans singled in senior co-captain Matt Delaney with the game's first run, and sophomore Peter O'Toole scored on an RBI fielder's choice by sophomore Brian Scanlon. Scanlon later trotted home with Babson's third run of the frame when senior Robbie Leer reached on an error. The Beavers plated another run in the second when senior Andrew Nodine led off with a single, stole second, moved to third on a groundout by senior Steve Tahmoush, and scored after an errant throw on a grounder back to the mound. Defensive miscues would then cost Saint Mary's again in the third, as Scanlon doubled and eventually scored on a two-out error on a grounder to short by sophomore Dave Ahern as Babson took a 5-0 lead after three. After pitching out of jams in the first and second and then retiring the side in order in the third, Babson senior starter John Hudspeth ran into trouble in the fourth. After back-to-back hit batsmen and a walk loaded the bases with one away, junior Tyler Kruse hit into a fielder's choice that plated the Cardinals' first run of the ball game. Saint Mary's then executed a double-steal that allowed senior David Krieger to score from third, and sophomore Kyle Ryan followed with an RBI single to right that cut the Babson lead to 5-3 and chased Hudspeth from the contest. Two batters later, junior Arron Merchlewitz tied the game with a two-run single off reliever Matt Barton, but the junior righty struck out the next hitter with the go-ahead run on second to get out of the inning.
Babson took the lead for good in the top of the fifth, as Scanlon led off with a home run to center. Two batter later, Leer launched the team's second round-tripper of the inning to make it 7-5 after five. In the sixth, O'Toole led off with a single, moved all the way to third on an errant pickoff attempt, and scored on an infield hit by Evans to make it 8-5. Evans would later take second on a passed ball, move to third on a groundout, and score the ninth Babson run on a single to center by Leer. After tossing scoreless frames in the fifth and sixth, Barton was chased in the seventh after surrendering a walk and a single to start the inning. Ahern then came on and struck out two of the next three batters before an RBI single by senior Brady Knudsen made it 9-6. However, Ahern induced a game-ending grounder to leave the bases loaded and finish off the Babson win. Barton picked up the win in relief for the Beavers, while Ahern notched his first save of the spring and seventh of his young career, moving him into sole possession of third place on the program's all-time list. Scanlon paced the offense with two hits, three runs, and two RBIs, while Evans and Leer each went 2-for-4 with one run and two driven in. O'Toole and Nodine also recorded two hits apiece, and Ahern rounded out the Beavers' 11-hit attack with a single. Saint Mary's surged out to a 7-1 lead midway through game two, with Babson's early run coming on an RBI single by first-year Corey Highfield in the bottom of the second. The Beavers then chipped away at the deficit with two runs in the fourth, as sophomore Chris Wood singled in rookie Andrew Aizenstadt and Tahmoush later plated Highfield with a sacrifice fly to center to make it 7-3. Babson's comeback attempt continued in the fifth, as O'Toole led off with a single and advanced to third on a double by Evans. Scanlon then knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly, and sophomore Jake Bartlett followed with an RBI single to right to cut the Beavers' deficit to 7-5. A single by Highfield and a walk by Wood then loaded the bases, and Bartlett then scampered home on a passed ball to make it a one-run game. However, rookie reliever Gary Seifert came on and recorded an inning-ending strikeout to preserve the Cardinals' lead. The Beavers threatened in each of the final two innings, but Seifert pitched out of trouble on both occasions to clinch the win. In the sixth, he induced a pop-up and back-to-back groundouts to strand the tying run at third, and in the seventh he pitched around a two-out single and a wild pitch to leave the tying run at second. Seifert earned a save with his 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief, while junior reliever Willy Shetke was credited with the win. Junior lefty Mark Donnellan started and took the loss for Babson, giving up four earned runs in 3 2/3 innings. Sophomore righty Keane Steiding then came on to strike out six in 3 1/3 hitless innings of relief to keep the Beavers in the contest. Offensively, Highfield paced the Beavers in the nightcap, going 4-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Delaney added three hits out of the two-hole, and Bartlett finished 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. |
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