Coast Guard Knocks Baseball Out Of NEWMAC Tourney, 14-5
NORTON, MA- Fifth seed United States Coast Guard Academy used a
seven-run eighth inning to pull away from the second-seeded Babson
College baseball team in Saturday's first elimination game of the
New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC)
Tournament, as the Bears upset the Beavers by a 14-5 count at
Wheaton College's Sidell Stadium.
Improving to 11-17 overall, Coast Guard stays on the field to face
third seed Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in today's final
elimination game and the right to advance to tomorrow's
championship round against the host Lyons. Meanwhile, Babson
(20-13) sees its hopes of a second straight conference title come
to an end with its second loss of the tourney.
The Bears had seven multi-hit performances, with freshman Riley
Beecher (Elgin, TX/Manor) going 3-for-5 with two runs and a pair of
RBI and classmate Mike Massaro (Sewell, NJ/William Penn Charter
School) driving in four on two hits. Senior John Jeffares
(Saint Petersburg, FL/Lakewood) went 3-for-5 and scored twice,
while classmate Ryan Milligan (Shamong, NJ/Seneca) had three runs
and two hits.
Also registering a pair of hits each were freshmen Cameron Carroll
(Reno, NV/Earl Wooster), Nolan Gallagher (New Milford, CT/New
Milford) and Eric Gerken (Tampa, FL/Tampa Catholic).
Gallagher and Gerken plated two apiece, with Gallagher drawing two
walks and Gerken doubling twice. Junior Jesse Karr (Milan,
MI/Milan) picked up the pitching win, allowing four earned runs on
nine hits with five strikeouts and one walk in 7.2 innings.
For Babson, senior Jake Bartlett (Weymouth, MA/Boston
College) was 3-for-4 with a run scored, while six other
Beavers had a hit each, including senior Peter O'Toole
(Salem, MA/Saint John's Prep), who scored twice.
Sophomore hurler Trevor MacNeill (Hanover,
MA/Hanover) was saddled with the loss after surrendering
four earned runs and nine hits with four strikeouts and two walks
in six-plus frames.
Coast Guard jumped out in front with a pair of unearned runs in the
first, as a Babson error and two bunt singles led to the two-run
frame. The Beavers sliced their deficit in half during the
bottom of the inning, when senior Dave Ahern's (Bedford,
MA/Bedford) two-out single to center scored a run.
The Bears countered with another two-run frame in the third,
recording three singles, including an RBI knock from Massaro.
Meanwhile, Karr found his groove toward the end of the first,
retiring 12 straight batters at one point, including turning in
three consecutive 1-2-3 frames. Karr's streak was aided by an
outstanding inning-ending diving catch by center fielder Gallagher
in the third, followed by two hit-saving defensive plays from
second baseman Jeffares and right fielder Milligan in the
fourth.
The Bears pushed a run across in the fourth to take a 5-1
advantage. Babson narrowed the gap to three with a run in the
home half of the sixth, but Coast Guard answered by plating two in
the seventh for a 7-2 advantage. Massaro notched his third
RBI in the game after drawing a bases-loaded hit by pitch.
The Beavers posted an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh but
came no closer.
NOTE: Taken from a Wheaton College press release.