SPRINGFIELD, Mass.—Senior Ryan Arena (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.), classmate David Lennon (Windermere, Fla.) and sophomore Matthew Valente (Wyckoff, N.J.) all drove in two runs apiece to help visiting Babson College defeat Western New England University, 13-6, in non-conference baseball action on Monday afternoon at Trelease Park.
Babson, which is third in the first NCAA regional rankings, improves to 27-10 overall with its sixth consecutive win, while Western New England, which is ranked sixth in the region, falls to 26-12 on the year.
Senior Mark Webber (Norwell, Mass.) was 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored, and Arena added two hits and two runs scored for the Beavers. Junior Edward Lehr (Byram Township, N.J.) tripled, walked three times and scored three times, while sophomore Jake Oliger (Newtown, Conn.) went 1-for-2 with three walks, three stolen bases and two runs scored.
Senior John Floegel (Summit, N.J.), the second of five pitchers that saw action for Babson, earned the win to improve to 4-2 with a pair of scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
Junior Alex Loparco (Riverside, Conn.) was 4-for-5 with a double and was one of five players to drive in a run for the Golden Bears. First-year Kevin Besko (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) started and suffered the loss after allowing six runs, four of them earned, on four hits and five walks in 1.1 innings to fall to 0-1 for Western New England, which used nine pitchers in the loss.
The Green and White took a 2-0 lead in the first as Webber singled with two outs and later scored on a sacrifice fly, while Lehr walked an came home on a single by Valente. Junior Erik Lecaire (Worcester, Mass.) smacked an RBI double and later scored on a passed ball to put the hosts up 3-2 in the bottom of the first, but the Beavers responded with a four-run second to go back in front for good.
Oliger singled and scored on a wild pitch, Lennon walked and came around on a single by Arena, and sophomore Sean Harrington (Walpole, Mass.) and Valente each drove in a run to make it 6-3. The Golden Bears pulled within two in the last of the second on Loparco's RBI double, only to see the Beavers break the game open with a four-run fifth.
Oliger scored on a two-out throwing error, which was followed by an RBI triple from Lehr and back-to-back RBI singles by Arena and Webber to push the margin to 10-4. Western New England scored twice in their half of the frame, but Babson stretched its lead out again in the ninth thanks to a sacrifice fly by junior Eric Jaun (Loveland, Ohio) and a two-run single by Lennon for a seven-run advantage.
The Beavers return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Salem State at 3:30 p.m., while the Golden Bears visit UMass Boston on Wednesday at 7:15 p.m.
GAME NOTES
• Babson improves to 12-12 all-time against Western New England with its second consecutive win in the series.
• The Beavers wrap up the month of April with a record of 15-3.
• Oliger has now reached base in 23 consecutive games going back to March 27.
• Babson's 27 wins are tied for the second most in program history behind last year's 29 victories.