Babson Shuts Out Baseball, 6-0

Babson Park, MA - Senior Jon Igoe (Lexington, Mass.), senior co-captain Sam Whelan (Milton, Mass.), and junior Jeff Wojnar (Bellaire, Texas) combined to pitch a four-hit shutout as the Babson College baseball team blanked visiting Framingham State College, 6-0, in its home opener on Monday afternoon. With the win, the Beavers improved to 7-4 on the year, while the Rams dropped to 2-7.

Igoe (2-0) was masterful in his second start of the year for Babson, as he scattered four hits and three walks over 6 1/3 scoreless innings. The senior right-hander pitched out of minor jams in the second, when he set down three straight batters after a leadoff single and an error put the first two on, and again in the fourth, when he retired the final two hitters after another error and a one-out single put two men on.

With Igoe cruising, junior Bryan Evans (Bellaire, Texas) put Babson in front in the bottom of the second when he launched his second home run of the spring over the wall in right center to lead off the inning. The Beavers then tacked on two more in the fourth as Evans and sophomore Brian Scanlon (Lawrenceville, N.J.) both scored on a one-out triple to center by sophomore Jake Bartlett (Weymouth, Mass.).

Igoe finally ran out of gas in the seventh, when an infield single by Framingham State sophomore Marc Massarotti (Watertown, Mass.) and back-to-back walks to junior Matt Nicholson (Watertown, Mass.) and first-year Steven Tramontozzi (Watertown, Mass.) loaded the bases with one out. However, staff ace Whelan came out of the bullpen for his first appearance of the season and struck out the next two batters to preserve the 3-0 lead.

The Beavers used three extra base hits to score two more runs in the bottom of the seventh, beginning with a leadoff double to right by first-year Corey Highfield (East Hampstead, Mass.). After a sacrifice bunt moved him to third, senior Steve Tahmoush (Arlington, Mass.) launched a triple off the right field wall to plate Highfield with the fourth Babson run, and Tahmoush then scampered home on a line-drive sac fly to left by senior co-captain Matt Delaney (Newton, Mass.).

Whelan would retire the side in order in the top of the eighth, Babson added an unearned run in the bottom half, and Wojnar came on to pitch a scoreless ninth as the Beavers finished off the 6-0 victory.

Evans was the game's only player with multiple hits, as he went 2-for-4 with a homer, two runs, and an RBI. Tahmoush, Bartlett, Highfield, and sophomore Peter O'Toole (Salem, Mass.) each added hits for Babson, while Massarotti, first-year Joe Sheehan (Burlington, Mass.), sophomore Casey Hickey (Lee, Mass.), and first-year A.J. LaBreque (Tyngsboro, Mass.) each recorded hits for Framingham State. Senior Evan Beauvais (West Boylston, Mass.) pitched well in defeat for the Rams, despite a final line of five runs allowed in seven innings.