BABSON PARK, Mass. – Suffolk baseball opened a five-day, seven-game stretch with a 7-1 victory over Babson Wednesday afternoon at Govoni Field. The Rams used homers from Garret Roberts and Harry Painter to defeat the Beavers, who are receiving votes in the latest D3Bseball.com/NCBWA poll, while the combined pitching of Michael Muscarella, Casey Sullivan and George Breslin aided the triumph, the blue-and-gold's first in the series since 2013. 

THE BASIC
SCORE: Suffolk 7 | Babson 1
RECORDS: Suffolk (9-5) | Babson (9-5) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Tristen Spalter retired the Rams in the first two innings, striking all, but one hitter over the first two stanzas. Suffolk's bats finally got going in the third when Blase Cormier struck a base hit to center field. Hitting became contagious for the blue-and-gold bats as the next three Rams knocked singles to help Suffolk break onto the board. Christian Seariac rounded out the rally to plate Cormier for the 1-0 edge.  

Babson threatened in the fifth. Similar to Suffolk, the Beavers used singles to score one run, but had a chance to do more damage with runners on second and third with one out. Muscarella worked his way out of the danger with a huge full-count, strikeout looking. The blue-and-gold's defense backed up the senior right-handed hurler for the final out of the frame to keep the score at 1-all at the end of the fifth.  

The Rams wasted little time to make up ground as Roberts rocketed a lead-off bomb in the sixth to push the visitors ahead. Suffolk's sixth-inning scoring did not stop there. Joe Ward followed his classmates' dinger with a two-base knock, advanced to second on Marc Birbiglia's 4-3 ground out and scored courtesy of Luke Harder's single up the middle to make it a two-run lead, 3-1.  

Following two shutdown innings from Rams' reliever Casey Sullivan, Suffolk padded the margin a pair further in the eighth. Once again extra base hits and Roberts factored into the scoring. Roberts led off with a double before the Beavers made a change on the mound. T Person picked up the first out on a pop up to short, but Painter quickly figured him out as the freshman let a ball fly over the right field fence to make it a 5-1 game. 

Sullivan shoved his third shutout stanza of the day in the home half of the inning to hold the advantage for Suffolk, whose bats added more insurance in the ninth. Ward barreled his second double of the day, this time it came with two outs and Rams in the corners, both of which scored, to stretch the gap to 7-1. Jonny Gilbride and Christian Seariacproduced back-to-back one-out singles to set-up Ward's two RBI two-bagger.

Breslin was called in to close the day. Despite walking his first batter, the sophomore retired the side from there to lock up the win.  

PITCHERS PICTURE

• Muscarella picked up the win with a one-run, five-hit, three-walk, three-strikeout performance in 5.0 innings. 
• Sullivan shoved 3.0 frames of scoreless relief with just one hit allowed and two punchouts. 
• Breslin logged 1.0 inning of scoreless, hitless relief. 
• Spalter took the setback after giving up three runs on seven hits with eight Ks to his credit in 6.0 innings. 
• Nate Carpenter (1 R, 2 H), Person (1R, 1 H) and Truman Devitt (2 R, 3 H) all came in for 1.0 inning for the Beavers.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Roberts registered two hits, both for extra bases with a double and homer. He scored twice and brought in one run. 
• Wards two hits were both doubles for two RBI and one run scored. 
• Seariac supplied two hits, one RBI and one run scored. 
• Gilbride went 3-for-4 at the dish and scored one run. 
• Painter provided two RBI on one hit, a bomb, and scored one run. 
• Harder, Cormier and Lake each added one hit. 
• Harder brought in one run, while Cormier scored once.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk defeated Babson for the first time since April 18, 2013. 
• The Rams scored seven runs against the Beavers for the first time since an 8-7 setback to Babson April 18, 2016. 
• The six-run margin of victory is the largest for Suffolk against Babson since defeating it 20-8, April 18, 2013. 
• The win is the first for Suffolk against Babson in the Anthony Del Prete era. 
• Suffolk is now 1-4 versus the Beavers in Del Prete's guidance. 
• The Rams have hit two homers in three consecutive contests for the second time this season. 
• Suffolk has struck for 15 home runs this season, which is the most dingers for the blue-and-gold bats since the 2018 team hit 15 over the course of 44 games. 
• Roberts registered his third homer of the season. 
• Roberts matched a career-high two hits. 
• Roberts is on a three-game hit streak. In that stretch he has five hits including two doubles and homers, respectively.  
• Painter produced his fifth dinger of the year. The five jacks are the most for a Ram since Brady Chant tallied six in the 2018 campaign. 
• Painter stretched his hit streak to five games. In that span he has 11 hits including two doubles, two triples and two home runs. 
• Gilbride tallied a personal-best three hits. 
• Ward notched two doubles in a single game for the first time in his Suffolk career. 
• Cormier has collected a hit in the last four games. Over that time, he has six hits.
• Seariac pushed his hit streak to nine games. The graduate student has produced at least one hit in all, but one of Suffolk's 15 games this season.  

POST-GAME PIC
 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk heads to Providence, Rhode Island tomorrow, Thursday, March 31 to take on Johnson & Wales in a non-conference tilt at 4 p.m.