Babson athletics photo

BABSON PARK, Mass.—Senior Brant Savage (Charlton, Mass.) homered in each game and was selected as the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament Most Outstanding Player as third-seeded Babson College defeated fourth-seeded Wheaton College twice to claim its first conference championship since 2018 on Sunday afternoon at Govoni Field.

The Beavers (30-11) forced the if necessary game with an 8-2 victory and then defeated the Lyons, 5-3, in the winner-take-all championship game to earn the NEWMAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Wheaton, which was seeking a fourth straight title, sees its season come to a close at 24-14.

Game 8: Babson 8, Wheaton 2
Senior Tanner Santos (Bethany, Conn.) went 3-for-5 with two RBI, graduate student Luke Tanner (Los Angeles, Calif.) was 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored and Savage hit a two-run homer to lead the Beavers' 15-hit attack. Graduate student John Nowak (Pelham, N.Y.) also singled twice and drove in a run, while junior Justin Guest (West Windsor, N.J.) and senior Ike Kiely (Falmouth, Mass.) each added two hits in support of graduate student Greg Nieskens (Pine Brook, N.J.), who struck out six and improved to 3-2 with his second complete game of the season.

Tommy Beauregard went 2-for-4, while Shawn Cali and Casey Wensley both drove in a run for the Lyons. Josh Fischer shouldered the loss and dropped to 0-4 on the year after allowing five runs on six hits in 2.0 innings.

The Green and White wasted little time jumping on top as Santos led off with a single and Savage followed with his seventh homer of the year, a two-run, shot to right center in the bottom of the first. Kiely started the bottom of the second with a single and later scored on junior Walter Sadowsky's (Morristown, N.J.) sacrifice fly before Santos plated two more with a base hit to left as the Beavers built a 5-0 lead.

Babson added to its margin again the fourth by stringing together four hits and taking advantage of an error by Wheaton. Tanner knocked in Santos with a single to center, Nowak followed with an RBI base hit two batters later and Kiely capped the rally with a two-out RBI single to center to make it 8-0.

Nieskens held Wheaton off the scoreboard until the sixth and then retired the final seven batters he faced as the Beavers won the second consecutive elimination game.

Game 9: Babson 5, Wheaton 3
Santos was 3-for-4 with two runs scored, Savage went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI and Nowak knocked in a pair of runs for the Beavers. Junior Matt Milone (Amston, Conn.) picked up his first win of the year with two shutout innings in relief of sophomore Connor Doan (Pasadena, Texas), while fellow sophomore Zander Teator (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) struck out three and recorded the final six outs for his sixth save of the year.

Mike Maher hit a two-run homer, Tyler Bellan went 2-for-3 and Tommy Ambrosone added an RBI single for the Lyons, who finished with just five hits. Jackson Walsh fell to 4-1 on the year with the loss after giving up one run on two hits over 2.1 innings out of the bullpen.

Just as it had in the opener, the Green and White jumped on top with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. Santos led off with an infield single, Tanner walked and Savage ripped a single to left to make it 1-0. Nowak followed with a sacrifice fly to left that brought home Tanner for a two-run advantage.

Babson made it 3-1 in the second when senior Luca Rubin (Los Angeles, Calif.) reached with a one-out single and later scored on a two-out error, only to see Wheaton pull even on Maher's two-run blast to right center in the top of the third. The Lyons had a chance to go in front on a double to center by Timmy Wagner with two outs, but the relay throw from Santos to Kiely cut Maher down at the plate to keep the game deadlocked.

The Beavers went in front for good in the bottom of the frame as Savage led off with his eighth home run of the season to left field for a 4-3 lead. Graduate student Zach Magee (Indianapolis, Ind.) worked out of trouble in the seventh and the hosts tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the inning as Santos eluded Bellan's tag on Nowak's sacrifice fly to short right to make it 5-3.

Teator retired the side after issuing a leadoff walk in the eighth and then worked around a leadoff single in the ninth to finish off the win.

Babson will find out where it is headed for the opening weekend of NCAA Tournament play when the field is unveiled on Monday at 10 a.m.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are now 14-16 all-time against Wheaton in the conference playoffs with 12 of the games having been played over the last four seasons.
• Babson is 21-1 at Govoni Field this season.
• The Green and White is 12-3 this spring in games decided by one or two runs.
• Sunday's victory gave the Beavers their seventh conference title and third since 2017.