Jonasson, Browne Lead Baseball to 16-2 Rout of Framingham State

BOX SCORE

BABSON PARK, Mass. - First-year Travis Jonasson (Needham, Mass.) hit two home runs - including his first career grand slam - and sophomore Jeff Browne (Vorhees, N.J.) struck out 10 batters in six shutout innings as the Babson College baseball team notched an impressive 16-2 win over visiting Framingham State College in a non-conference contest at Govoni Field on Friday afternoon.

Jonasson's career day included a solo homer in the bottom of the first, a grand slam in the sixth, and a double eighth. For the game, the rookie first baseman went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and five RBIs. Junior Jake Bartlett (Weymouth, Mass.) also added three hits for Babson, sophomore Billy Besinger (Milton, Mass.) went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and first-year Billy Miller (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) scored three times. Senior co-captain Bryan Evans (Bellaire, Texas) also had a nice day at the plate, knocking in two runs with a triple in the second.

Browne was masterful in his first collegiate start for the Beavers, going six innings and allowing no runs on just four hits, walking one and striking out 10. The victory was the first of his career. Fellow freshman Trevor MacNeill (Hanover, Mass.) came out of the pen and tossed two scoreless frames, giving up one hit and fanning three, and first-year Rick Gilbody (Hanover, Mass.) pitched the ninth, allowing two runs and striking out one.

For Framingham State, sophomore Steven Tramontozzi (Watertown, Mass.) recorded a team-high three hits in four at-bats, while sophomore J.J. Sorensen (Westerly, R.I.) went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Sophomore A.J. LaBrecque (Tyngsboro, Mass.) knocked in one of the Ram's run with a single in the ninth, while junior Marc Massarotti (Watertown, Mass.) plated another with a sacrifice fly in the same inning. First-year Kevin Van Cleef (Forestdale, Mass.) took the loss in his first collegiate start, dropping his record to 0-1.

Jonasson launched a two-out homer over the wall in right center to give Babson a 1-0 in the first. The Beavers then erupted for six runs in the second, highlighted by back-to-back RBI singles from junior Peter O'Toole (Salem, Mass.) and Besinger as well as Evan's two-run triple to right.

Babson later plated individual runs on a double by Bartlett in the third, a single by first-year Sean Cleary (Milton, Mass.) in the fourth, and a single by Besinger in the fifth, before exploding for five more in the sixth. After one run scored on an error, Jonasson crushed his first career grand slam well over the wall in right, pushing Babson's lead to 15-0. The Beavers added one final run on an RBI single to right by sophomore Sean Pucciarelli (Robbinsville, N.J.) in the seventh as they cruised to the eventual 16-2 victory.

Both teams return to action with conference doubleheaders on Saturday. Babson will host NEWMAC foe WPI beginning at noon, while Framingham State heads to North Adams to take on MCLA at 1 p.m.