The Suffolk University Baseball team (9-8, 2-0 GNAC) opened their 2011 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) schedule with a double header sweep over Emerson College (5-13, 0-2 GNAC).
The Rams were led by senior Andrew Babb (Ashland, Mass.), who homered in each game, finishing the day 4-for-6 with five runs scored and three RBI.
The Rams took game one, 6-5 in extra innings as Babb hit the go-ahead home run to lead off the eighth inning.
Emerson staked themselves to a 5-0 led in the bottom of the second inning in which they collected four hits and drew three walks. Senior Nick Vennochi (Melrose, Mass.) picked up the first RBI of the game drawing a bases loaded walk with one out, before senior Peter Maltzan (Lexington, Mass.) drove in a pair of runs with a single. Junior Geoff Lopes (Falmouth, Mass.) and freshman Cal Ciarcia (Kingston, Mass.) each added RBI singles later in the inning as the Lions batted around.
The Rams would answer in the top of the fourth with four runs of their own. Freshman Devan Jones (Roslindale, Mass.) got the inning started with a double off the left field fence, followed by a single by Babb. Senior Mark Annese (Winchester, Mass.) then reached base on a Lions' miscue loading the bases for Suffolk. Junior Dan Belanger (Raynham, Mass.) got the Rams their first run of the game taking a breaking ball off his left shoulder for the hit by pitch which brought Jones across the plate to score the first Suffolk run of the ball game. Freshman Michael Muse (Milton, Mass.) drove in a run with a single to left, and then senior Nick Travelyn (Bedford, N.H.) capped the inning off with a two-run triple to center.
Suffolk would even the game at five in the top half of the sixth inning as freshman Jake Cintolo (Wrentham, Mass.) led the inning off with a walk. The Rams would take advantage of more Lions' errors as Cintolo came around to score later in the inning on an overthrow bringing the score to 5-5.
Senior Alex Torres (Framingham, Mass.) pitched all eight innings for Suffolk earning his third win of the season. Torres struck out eight in the game.
Game two was a lot less dramatic for the Rams as they jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in their first at-bat.
Cintolo got the Rams on the board early with a two-run double bringing the first runs of the game across and Muse delivered a pair with a knock to right field.
The Rams continued to score as they tacked on eight more in the third inning highlighted by a two-run blast over the short right center porch by Babb.
The Rams sent 12 hitters to the plate in the third, as Jones, Travelyn and sophomore Andrew McCarty (Franklin, Mass.) each had a pair of RBI.
Senior Mark Addesa (Revere, Mass.) added another run in the fourth inning for the Rams with an RBI double.
The Rams finished with 12 hits in game two, the eleventh time this season they have recorded double digits in hits in a game.
Junior Tim Belanger (Raynham, Mass.) earned the complete game victory for Suffolk allowing three runs on six hits while striking out three.
Suffolk will be back in action on Tuesday afternoon as they travel across the Charles River to take on MIT at 3:30pm in Cambridge.