WPI Hands Baseball First Tournament Defeat, 9-4
BABSON PARK, Mass. – Third-seeded WPI hit four home runs
and senior Thomas Whiting (Farmington Hills, Mich.) tossed a
complete game on the mound as the Engineers defeated second-seeded
host Babson College, 9-4, on day two of the 2010 New England
Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Double-Elimination
Baseball Tournament at Govoni Field on Thursday afternoon.
With the win, the Engineers move on to play in the winner’s
bracket on Saturday, while Babson will play an elimination game the
same day. Both contests will be played at Wheaton with times and
opponents to be determined based on the results of Friday's game
between Wheaton and MIT and a suspended contest between MIT and
Coast Guard.
WPI jumped out to an immediate lead in the top of the first, beginning when junior Bryan Watkins (Belmont, Mass.) led off with a single to left and senior Paul Galligan (Weymouth, Mass.) followed with a walk. Senior Mike Swanton (Foxboro, Mass.) then belted a three-run homer well over the wall in right center, spotting the visitors to an early 3-0 advantage. It was Swanton’s second round-tripper of the season.
The Engineers added to their lead with another longball in the fourth, as sophomore Nick Bean (Milddeboro, Mass.) led off the inning with a blast to center to make it 4-0 – his second of the spring. However, the Beavers cut their deficit in half in the bottom of the frame, as junior Billy Besinger (Milton, Mass.) hit a lead-off double to right and sophomore Travis Jonasson (Needham, Mass.) launched his third home run of the season over the wall in center, cutting WPI’s lead to 4-2.
WPI re-established its four-run advantage in the top of the
fifth, as Galligan drew a lead-off walk and senior Matt Moreau
(Manchester, N.H.) was hit by a pitch two batters later. Following
the second out of the inning, Bean lined a double down the
leftfield line, scoring both runners to make it 6-2.
The Engineers tacked on another run in the top of the sixth when
senior Joe Walsh (Weymouth, Mass.) hit his second home run of the
year to centerfield, chasing Babson first-year Kyle Lyon
(Flemington, N.J.) and increasing the visitors’ advantage to
7-2. Moreau then added WPI’s fourth round-tripper of the
afternoon in the seventh, scoring Swanton with his team-leading
fourth of the year to make it 9-2.
Babson staged a final comeback attempt in the bottom of the ninth, as senior captain Brian Scanlon (Lawrenceville, N.J.) and senior Jake Bartlett (Weymouth, Mass.) both singled with two outs. First-year John Botelho (Tempe, Ariz.) then lined a double to deep center, scoring Bartlett and sophomore pinch-runner Joe Nixon (Foxboro, Mass.). However, after walking senior captain Peter O’Toole (Salem, Mass.), Whiting induced a game-ending fly out to left to finish off the 9-4 victory.
Whiting gave up four runs on nine hits, walking one and striking out three in the complete game victory. The win improved his record to 3-1 on the season. Lyon suffered his first loss of the year for Babson, dropping his record to 4-1.
Bean paced the WPI offense, going 3-for-5 with two doubles and a homer while driving in three, while Walsh went 2-for-5 with a home run. Botelho led Babson with two doubles and two RBIs in four trips, while Besinger went 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored.