BABSON PARK, Mass.—Babson College hit four home runs and pounded out 26 hits, including 11 for extra bases, on its way to sweeping the Coast Guard Academy in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) baseball doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Govoni Field. The Beavers defeated the Bears, 5-1, in the opener and rolled to a 19-2 victory in game two.
Babson, which has won five straight games, is now 12-7 overall and 3-2 in league play, while Coast Guard slips to 6-8 overall and 0-5 in the NEWMAC.
GAME ONE: Babson 5, Coast Guard 1
Sophomore Sean Harrington (Walpole, Mass.) was 2-for-3 with a homer and five RBI, while junior Connor Gill(Sterling, Mass.) allowed just one run over seven innings in the Beaver's game one win. Senior David Lennon(Windermere, Fla.) and sophomore Matthew Valente (Wyckoff, N.J.) both had two hits in support of Gill (2-1), who struck out two and walked two in addition to allowing just three hits.
Senior Alex Murdoch (San Ramon, Calif.) and junior Luke Thompson (San Ramon, Calif.) both had two hits for the Bears. Sophomore Brett Sullivan (Granby, Mass.) shouldered the loss to fall to 2-2 after giving up three runs on five hits to go along with six strikeouts in 7.0 innings.
Coast Guard jumped on top 1-0 in the top of the first as Thompson led off with a double to right center and Stephens drove him in with a single to left two batters later. Babson had two just base runners over the first three innings, but took the lead for good in the fourth. Lennon started the frame with, senior Mark Webber (Norwell, Mass.) doubled to left center and Harrington followed with a three-run blast to straight away center field for a 3-1 advantage.
Gill did not allow a hit over his final five innings of work and junior Max Tannenbaum (Coral Springs, Fla.) worked around a one-out single in the top of the eighth before the Green and White tacked on a pair of insurances runs in the bottom of the frame. Lennon led off with a double, senior Ryan Arena (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) reached on a fielder's choice and both came home on a one-out single by Harrington.
Senior Matt Cuneo (Ashland, Mass.) got two quick outs in the ninth and was able to work around a single and an error to close out the victory.
GAME TWO: Babson 19, Coast Guard 2
Arena went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run five RBI and four runs scored as the Beavers routed Coast Guard in game two. Junior Brian McHale (Ramsey, N.J.) and sophomore Jake Oliger (Newtown, Conn.) both homered, while junior Eric Jaun (Loveland, Ohio) had two hits and drove in three runs as part of a 16-hit attack.
Senior John Floegel (Summit, N.J.) and three relievers combined to strikeout 10 while limiting the Bears to just four hits. Floegel (1-2) picked up his first win of the year after giving up two runs on three hits in six innings of work.
Junior Reed Jenkins (Brown Summitt, N.C.) was 2-for-4 and Murdoch drove in a run for Coast Guard. Classmate Dustin Reeder (Lincoln, Del.) started and fell to 0-3 on the year after being tagged for eight earned runs on six hits and four walks in 3.1 innings.
McHale and Lennon drew back-to-back walks to start the bottom of the first and Arena launched his fourth home run of the season over the right field fence for a 3-0 lead. Coast Guard loaded the bases with no outs in the second but scored just one run as Floegel recorded a strikeout and got two straight ground outs to end the threat.
Harrington drove in Arena with a sacrifice fly to make it 4-1 in the third and Babson put up six runs in a fourth inning that included an RBI double from Lennon and a two-run double from Arena to extend the margin to 10-1. McHale hit a two-run bomb to right center in the fifth and Jaun cleared the bases with a one-out double to center in the sixth as part of a four-run frame.
Oliger delivered the final blow when he cranked a three-run homer, his second of the year, to right center with two outs in the seventh.
Babson returns to action on Monday when it hosts Plymouth State at 3:30 p.m., while Coast Guard travels to Emerson on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.
DOUBLEHEADER NOTES
• The Beavers are 59-22 all-time against Coast Guard and have won six in a row against the Bears.
• Babson has won 12 straight games at home and is 29-10 at Govoni Field since the start of the 2016 campaign.
• The Green and White set season highs for runs (19) and home runs (3) and matched its highest total of the year with five doubles in game two.
• Babson is 10-2 this season when scoring at least five runs.