Babson Slows Endicott, 13-7
April 6, 2007
BABSON PARK, MA - Babson College scored six runs in the second inning and never looked back as the Beavers held on for a 13-7 win over Endicott College in a non-conference baseball game at Govoni Field on Friday afternoon. It was the second victory in as many days for the Beavers (10-7), while the Gulls (6-7) lost for the first time in their last three contests.
With the contest tied at 2-2, Babson broke the game open with six runs in the bottom of the second. Sophomore Andrew Spevacek (Shorewood, Minn.) knocked in the first two with a double to right, and first-year Peter O'Toole (Wayne, N.J.) plated another with an RBI single later in the inning. After another run scored on a fielder's choice by junior Andrew Nodine (Portland, Maine), first-year Brian Scanlon (Lawrenceville, N.J.) drove in two with a single to right to give the Beavers an 8-2 advantage.
Endicott slowly chipped away at the Babson lead, getting to within three, 9-6, with two runs in the top of the sixth. Sophomore Joe Paciello (Worcester, MA/St. Peter Marian) knocked in senior Steve Vidmosko (Shelton, CT/Fairfield Prep) with a fielder's choice grounder and later scored on a two-out singe to left center by junior Dan Gomez (East Longmeadow, MA/East Longmeadow). However, the Beavers responded with a run in the bottom of the inning and three more in the seventh to claim the eventual 13-7 win.
Scanlon had a big day at the plate in the win for Babson, going 2-for-4 with his first collegiate home run - a solo blast to right center in the eight - as well as a run scored and three RBIs. Spevacek went 1-for-4 with three runs scored and three driven in, and junior Steve Tahmoush finished 1-for-2 while scoring a season-high four runs. Through the team's first 17 games, Tahmoush is hitting .437 with 24 runs scored - both team-highs.
Gomez led Endicott with a strong offensive showing, going 3-for-5 with a run scored and three RBIs. Sophomore Ryan Scanlon (Lowell, MA/Lowell) was the only other Gull with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-3 with two runs.
Junior Robbie Leer (Edina, Minn.) gutted out the win on the mound for Babson, giving up five earned runs on seven hits while fanning two in five-plus innings of work. Sophomore Mark Donnellan (Walpole, Mass.) then gave the Beavers a terrific performance out of the bull pen, going three-plus innings and allowing just one unearned run on four hits. That took Babson to the ninth, where sophomore Chris Legrow (North Andover, Mass.) finished up with a scoreless inning of relief, including a strikeout to end the game. The victory upped Leer's record to 1-1 on the season.
Control problems plagued Endicott's first-year starter Tyler Connelly (Grafton, MA/Grafton/Cushing Academy), who allowed seven runs on three hits and five walks in 1 1/3 innings to fall to 0-1. Fellow rookie Matt Sharon (Wallingford, VT/Mill River Union) came on to pitch 4 2/3 effective innings of relief, as he allowed three runs - only one of which was earned - on three hits.