The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference

BABSON PARK, Mass. - Just 24 hours after squandering a nine-run lead in a 12-11 loss to Clark, top-seeded Babson College conjured up some late-inning magic of its own as the Beavers scored seven runs in the bottom of the eighth to claim an incredible 10-8 victory over fifth-seeded WPI in an elimination game of the 2008 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Baseball Tournament at Babson's Govoni Field on Thursday afternoon.

With the win, the Beavers, ranked third in New England, improved to 26-9 overall and earned the right to host the tournament's next three games on Saturday. MIT will play Clark in the first game at 9:30 a.m., Babson will take on fourth-seeded Springfield at 12:45 p.m., and Wheaton will face the winner of the MIT-Clark game 4 p.m. that afternoon.

The loss eliminated WPI from the tournament and dropped the Engineers' record to 16-17-1 on the year.

Sophomore Dave Ahern (Bedford, Mass.) led the Babson offense, going 2-for-4 with one run and four RBIs, including a clutch three-run homer with two outs in the eighth that gave the Beavers the lead. Senior Steve Tahmoush (Arlington, Mass.) also added two hits while scoring twice and driving in one, and senior co-captain Matt Delaney (Newton, Mass.) chipped with a double and two runs scored.

Sophomore Cody McGregor (Westfield, Mass.) wend 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI for WPI, while Mike Swanton (Foxboro, Mass.) joined him with three hits, one run, and one knocked in. First-year Bryan Watkins (Belmont, Mass.), sophomore Matt Moreau (Manchester, N.H.), junior Scott McNee (Falmouth, Mass.), and sophomore Mark Dignum (Albany, N.Y.) each chipped in with two hits apiece for the Engineers, with McNee also driving in two.

WPI jumped in front in the top of the first, as Watkins led off with a single, moved to second on a base hit by Swanton, and scored on a single to left by McNee. However, Babson answered with a pair in the bottom half of the inning, beginning when Tahmoush was hit by a pitch and Delaney followed with a double to right. After Ahern walked to load the bases, junior Bryan Evans (Bellaire, Texas) tied the game with an RBI groundout to short before senior Robbie Leer (Edina, Minn.) put the hosts in front with a sac fly to right.

The score remained 2-1 until the top of the third, when Watkins again led off with a single, advanced to second on an infield hit by sophomore Paul Galligan (Weymouth, Mass.), and scored on an RBI single to right by Swanton. The Engineers then executed a double-steal that would lead to two more runs, as McNee and senior Ryan Rainone (Oakville, Conn.) followed with consecutive RBI groundouts.

Babson cut the WPI lead to 4-2 when Ahern singled in Tahmoush in the bottom of the third, but Engineers' senior starter Brian Duncan (West Suffield, Conn.) would settle down nicely after that, allowing just one hit over the next four innings. Meanwhile, WPI added a run in the fourth on an RBI-groundout by Watkins, another in the sixth when Dignum plated Moreau with a sacrifice fly to right, and two more in the top of the eighth when McGregor singled in one run and later scored on a perfectly-executed squeeze play by senior Brandon Steacy (Framingham, Mass.). That gave WPI an 8-3 advantage with six outs to go.

After giving up 10 runs in the top of the eighth in the devastating loss to Clark on Wednesday, Babson's fortunes reversed in its half of the eighth on Thursday, as the Beavers scored seven times to take a 10-8 lead. Evans and Leer started things off with back-to-back singles to start the frame, and, after both runners moved up on a passed ball, sophomore Jake Bartlett (Weymouth, Mass.) lifted a sacrifice fly to left to score Evans with the fourth Beaver run. Sophomore Peter O'Toole (Salem, Mass.) then laced a single up the middle to score Leer and advanced to second when the throw from center bounced into foul ground.

Still armed with a three-run lead, WPI brought in sophomore reliever Thomas Whiting with one out, but the righthander was immediately greeted by a ringing RBI-double to right-center by sophomore Brian Scanlon (Lawrenceville, N.J.) that made it 8-6. The Beavers then caught a huge break when senior Andrew Nodine (Portland, Maine) struck out but reached first on a wild pitch, and Tahmoush followed with a base hit through the right side that plated Scanlon to make it a one-run game.

Duncan picked up the second out of the inning when Delaney grounded into a fielder's choice, bringing Ahern to the plate with runners at the corners and two down. The sophomore slugger then blasted a 2-1 offering over the wall in right center for his second home run of the season, giving Babson a 10-8 advantage. That would prove to be enough for senior reliever John Hudspeth (Mount Laurel, N.J.), who surrendered a two-out single in the ninth before inducing a game-ending fielder's choice grounder to cap off the spectacular comeback victory.

Hudspeth earned the win with three innings of relief, allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits to improve to 5-0 on the year. Junior starter Jeff Wojnar (Bellaire, Texas) gutted out the first six innings for the Beavers, giving up six runs on 12 hits, walking one and striking out one. The Babson defense also aided its two hurlers by turning four double plays in the contest.

Duncan finished with a no-decision after allowing six runs on seven hits and three walks while fanning two in 7 1/3 innings for WPI. Whiting got the final two outs and took the loss, dropping his record to 0-2 on the year.

Babson College 10, WPI 8 (Apr 24, 2008 at Babson Park, MA)

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WPI....................... 103 101 020 - 8 15 2 (16-17-1)
Babson College...... 201 000 07X - 10 10 1 (26-9)
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Pitchers: WPI - Brian Duncan; Thomas Whiting(8). Babson College - Jeff Wojnar; John Hudspeth(7).
Win-John Hudspeth(5-0) Loss-Thomas Whiting(0-2) T-2:19 A-200

HR BAB - Dave Ahern (2).

Wojnar faced 1 batter in the 7th.

Seven-Run Eighth Propels Babson Past WPI, 10-8, In NEWMAC Baseball Tournament