Bell Extends Scoreless Innings Streak to 29 with Complete-Game Shutout
NORTHBOROUGH, Mass.—Sophomore Tyler Bell (Abington, Mass.) fired a complete-game three-hitter and junior Sean Harrington (Walpole, Mass.) hit a three-run homer as No. 7/7 Babson College defeated WPI, 7-0, in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament elimination game on Monday morning at the New England Baseball Complex.
Babson, which avenged a loss to the Engineers in Friday's tournament opener, improve to 32-6 on the year and will now host fourth-seeded MIT in the championship round of the playoffs. Second-seeded WPI sees its year come to a close at 23-16.
Bell (3-0) struck out five and did not allow a hit until the fifth while extending scoreless streak to 29.0 innings going back to March 25. In addition to his home run Harrington was 2-for-3 with two runs scored, while junior Matthew Valente (Wyckoff, N.J.) singled twice and scored a run for the Beavers. Seniors Connor Gill (Sterling, Mass.), classmate Nicholas Browne (Mount Laurel, N.J.) and first-year Thomas Lapham (Charlestown, Mass.) each chipped in with an RBI.
Senior Steven Gallagher (Coventry, R.I.) doubled twice for the Engineers, who had just three baserunners in the loss. First-year Alexander Mondro (Westford, Mass.) got the start but fell to 2-5 on the year after giving up two earned runs on three hits in 2.0 innings.
Harrington was hit by a pitch with two outs in the first and scored one batter later when junior Jake Oliger's (Newtown, Conn.) single to left went under the glove of senior Ryan Tropeano (Pembroke, Mass.) to give the Green and White a 1-0 lead. Browne hit a lined shot off Mondro that brought in senior Edward Lehr (Byram Township, N.J.), and Lapham followed with an RBI knock that drove in Valente extending the margin to 3-0 in the second.
The Beavers stranded a pair in scoring position in the third, but made up for it with a four-run fourth that included an RBI single by Gill and Harrington's three-run blast to right to make it 7-0. Babson recorded seven of its eight hits over the first four innings, but the lead was more than enough for Bell, who retired the first 13 batters he faced and later set down the final seven of the game after Gallagher's second double in the last of the seventh.
The Beavers return home to face MIT on Tuesday at 3 p.m. needing a victory to force a winner-take-all championship game on Wednesday.
GAME NOTES
• Babson is now 51-25 all-time and 4-4 versus WPI in eight NEWMAC Tournament games.
• With his single in the third Harrington extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
• In three starts this spring Bell has thrown 23.0 innings giving up no runs on 10 hits and two walks while striking out 16.
• The Beavers' six shutouts this season are the program's most since 2011.