BABSON PARK, Mass. – Sophomore Jeff Buress (Cumberland, R.I.) pitched seven strong innings to earn his second win of the season and senior captain Dave Ahern (Bedford, Mass.) went 3-for-5 with three RBIs as the Babson College baseball team defeated visiting Suffolk University, 12-3, in a non-conference contest at Govoni Field on Wednesday afternoon. It was the seventh straight win for the Beavers, who improved to 7-2, while the Rams dipped to 3-7 on the season.
After firing a 5-hit shutout in his first appearance of the spring, Buress (2-0) was outstanding again on Wednesday, going seven innings and allowing three runs – all unearned – on three hits. The sophomore righthander walked one and struck out two and has not allowed an earned run through his first 16 innings of work this season.
Offensively, Babson was paced by Ahern, who finished with three hits, including a pair of doubles, a run scored, and three RBIs. Sophomore Billy Miller (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) wend 2-for-4 with one run scored and one driven in, while sophomore Billy Besinger (Milton, Mass.), first-year Chris Kucher (Westwood, Mass.), and sophomore Sean Cleary (Milton, Mass.) each finished with one hit and scored twice.
Junior righty Alex Torres (Framingham, Mass.) started and took the loss for Suffolk, giving up six runs – four earned – on three hits and a walk while striking out three in 2 1/3 innings. First-year Chris Stanley (Orange County, Calif.) accounted for all of the Rams’ runs with a three-run homer, while senior Marc Doyle (Whitman, Mass.) and sophomore Eric Del Buono (Westfield, Mass.) also had hits in the loss.
Suffolk jumped in front in the top of the second, as a two-out error and a single set the table for Stanley, who blasted his first round-tripper of the season over the wall in right-center. Babson then took control of the game with nine runs in the bottom of the third, thanks to six hits and three costly Ram errors. Ahern had the big hit of the inning when he smacked a two-run double to right that was lost in the sun by the Suffolk rightfielder, and Kucher, Miller, and first-year Pat Matvichuk (Middleton, Mass.) also added RBI hits in the nine-run frame.
The Beavers added two more in the fourth on another two-out miscue by Suffolk and then scored again on an RBI double by Ahern in the fifth as they cruised to the 12-3 win
(Story courtesy of Babson College Sports Information)