Baseball Rallies to Defeat Babson, 10-7

BABSON PARK, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology baseball team rallied from five runs down to claim a 10-7 victory over host Babson College in a non-conference game on Wednesday. The win snapped a 16-game series losing streak for the Leopards (12-13), who hadn't beaten Babson (15-13) since April 6, 1994.

Things looked good for the Beavers early on, as senior Conor Kortmann (Manalapan, N.J.) highlighted a five-run first inning with a bases-clearing, three-run double to right center. Junior Brendan Collins (Abington, Mass.) and senior John Botelho (Tempe, Ariz.) also drove in runs in the frame as the hosts grabbed an early 5-0 lead.

After the first of five Babson errors allowed two unearned runs to score in the top of the second, the Beavers made it a 6-2 affair when senior Trevor Boyce (Canton, Mass.) walked, stole second, took third on a groundout, and scored on a passed ball. However, the game would be all Wentworth from that point on, as the Leopards erupted for six runs in the fifth and two more in the eighth to take control of the ballgame.

Control problems by Babson pitchers and timely Wentworth hits were the keys to the pivotal fifth inning. After back-to-back batters were hit with one down, senior Alex Wong (Lewiston, Maine) and sophomore Joe Hulme (Tewksbury, Mass.) recorded consecutive RBI-singles, with a second run scoring on an error on Hulme's single, as the visitors drew within one at 6-5. A single, a walk, and another hit-batsman then forced in the tying run, setting up the biggest blow of the game - a two-run single to left by sophomore Scott Oullette (Lewiston, Maine) that gave Wentworth an 8-6 advantage.

Junior Ben Lewis (Middletown, R.I.) came on in relief of senior starter Ryan Conrad (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and pitched a scoreless fifth inning to earn the win, improving his record to 5-1. Freshman Johnny Ryan (Brant Rock, Mass.) then added 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, striking out four along the way, while senior Ryan DeCotis (Nashua, N.H.) went the final 2 1/3 and allowed just one run to earn his first save.

Sophomore Dillon Gonzalez (Beverly, Mass.) went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored to pace the Babson offense, while Boyce added two hits and two runs. Collins and sophomore Sean MacPhee (Framingham, Mass.) also recorded two hits apiece, while Kortmann led all players with three RBIs. Freshman Hunter Silva (Bourne, Mass.) started and took the loss (2-3) on the mound for the Beavers, while freshmans Bennett Deady (Andover, Mass.) and Byron Pitts-Howard (Pompano Beach, Fla.) combined to allow no earned runs over the final 4 2/3 innings.

Hulme and Oullette each finished the day 2-for-4 at the plate for Wentworth, with Hulme scoring twice and Oullette knocking in a pair.

(Recap Courtesy of Babson Sports Information)