Game 3 – No. 4 MIT 6, No. 1 Salve Regina 13 – Final

NEWPORT, R.I. -- The fourth-seeded MIT baseball team dropped a 13-6 decision to top-seeded and nationally ranked No. 4 Salve Regina University in the winner's bracket of the 2026 NEWMAC Baseball Championship on Friday afternoon at Reynolds Field.  

Salve starter Luis Ortiz held MIT without a hit for the game's first four innings as the Seahawks built a 5-0 lead, scoring a run in both the first and second innings before posting three runs in the bottom of the third, including two on an Elliot Hamilton double to center field. 

The MIT lineup found a spark in the top of the fifth inning, scoring four runs on three hits and a pair of Salve errors. John Dwyer opened the inning with a single as the first three MIT batters reached base. Dwyer and James Dempsey scored the first two Engineer runs on Salve errors, while Owen Malone and John Spivey each added RBI singles. 

Salve pulled a run back on a Shane Williams RBI single in the bottom of the fifth before moving ahead 8-4 in the bottom of the sixth when Hamilton drove in a run, and another scored on an MIT error.  

Maximo Del Pino reached first on a throwing error to lead off the seventh inning, ending the day for Ortiz. Malone walked, and Del Pino took third on a wild pitch, but with runners on the corners and no outs, the game was halted by a 41-minute rain delay. MIT got both runners in after the delay, scoring on an RBI groundout from Jack Finnegan and an RBI single from Dalton Chi, but the rally would stop at two runs as MIT continued to trail, 8-6. 

The two-run deficit was as close as MIT would come for the remainder of the contest. Salve scored a run in the bottom of the seventh before adding four more in the bottom of the eighth to grow the lead to 13-6.  

The Engineers went 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth against Salve reliever Ethan Santerre, as Santerre struck out Del Pino and Malone before getting Finnegan to ground out to end the ballgame. 

Salve scored 13 runs on 15 hits while limiting MIT to just four hits in the contest. 

MIT will play Wheaton at URI , and Babson will play at Salve at 9:30 AM on Saturday. The winner of the MIT/Wheaton game will advance to play the loser of the Salve/Babson game on Saturday at 1:00 PM at URI. 
 

Game 4- No. 3 Babson 3, No. 2 Wheaton 2 – Final 

NORTON, Mass.—Junior Jason Finkelstein (Walpole, Mass.) struck out six over 8.0 strong innings and senior Zander Teator (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) drove in the tying and go-ahead runs in the top of the eighth as third-seeded Babson College rallied to defeat second-seeded Wheaton College, 3-2, in NEWMAC Tournament action on Friday afternoon at Sidell Stadium. 

Babson, which has won four in a row and eight of its last nine games, remains unbeaten in the tournament and improves to 24-15 on the year. Wheaton has dropped two of its last three outings to slip to 26-12 overall. Friday's matchup was the 100th all-time meeting between the teams.

Teator and sophomores Dylan Drazka (Rye Brook, N.Y.) and Ben Valente (Newton, Mass.) all recorded two hits apiece, while junior Connor Frickey (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and sophomore Gabe Harmon (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) each singled and scored for the Beavers. Finkelstein scattered 10 hits and walked just one while giving up two runs to improve to 5-2 with the win, while Teator recorded the final three outs for his sixth save. 

Junior Tyler Bellan (Franklin, Mass.) went 4-for-4 with an RBI, and senior Marcus Rodrigues (Lincoln, R.I.) and sophomore Logan Downey (Warwick, R.I.) both added two knocks for the Lyons, who finished with 11 hits. Junior Aiden Cardoza (Dartmouth, Mass.) settled for a no-decision despite striking out four and giving up just two runs on five hits over 7.2 innings. Senior Evan Mello (New Bedford, Mass.) fanned three but dropped to 2-2 on the year with the loss after allowing a run on three hits in 1.1 innings. 

Cardoza, who retired 10 straight batters to start the game, was in command for much of his outing before the Green and White put together a two-rally in the eighth. Frickey beat out an infield single, Harmon followed with a base hit to left, and Drazka greeted Mello with a squibber that got just past the mound to load the bases. Valente brought home Frickey with an infield single deep in the hole at short to make it 2-1, and Teator ripped a base hit to left that plated Harmon and Drazka for a 3-2 lead. 

Wheaton took a 1-0 lead on junior Robbie Lamond's (North Kingstown, R.I.) bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first and pushed its advantage to 2-0 when Bellan smashed a single off the glove of Beavers' first baseman Colin Chou (Warren, N.J.) to drive in senior Ray Toth (Granby, Mass.). The Lyons looked primed to extend the margin in the fourth, but the Babson defense made a pair of terrific plays as the sophomore catcher Gabe Cushner (Harrington Park, N.J.) gunned down the lead runner at third on a bunt, while Finkelstein made a backhanded stab and flipped the ball home from his glove to catch Toth trying to score on a squeeze bunt before getting a strikeout with the bases loaded to escape the threat. 

The Beavers turned double plays to end both the sixth and eighth innings, and Teator picked off sophomore Jeremy Aylward (Hingham, Mass.) at first before recording back-to-back strikeouts in the bottom of the ninth, the second of which came on a pitch clock infraction and a 0-2 count. 

Babson will now face top-seeded and fourth-ranked Salve Regina on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. in Newport, R.I., with the winner punching its ticket to the NEWMAC Tournament final. Wheaton will meet fourth-seeded MIT in an elimination game at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday in Kingston, R.I. 

About the NEWMAC

The NEWMAC is an association of 13 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Saint Anselm College (beginning reclassification process with NCAA in 2027-28), Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with eight Associate Members: Brandeis University (Women's Lacrosse, 2026-2027), New York University (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), SUNY New Paltz (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), and Vassar College (Men's Volleyball, 2026-2027), while sponsoring 21 sports.