BABSON PARK, Mass. –In his first game back from injury, Babson College senior righthander Jeff Buress (Cumberland, R.I.) pitched 5 1/3 innings of stellar relief to help the Beavers rally from a 5-0 deficit and defeat the visiting Wentworth Institute of Technology, 8-6, in a non-conference baseball game at Govoni Field on Wednesday.

Now winners of six straight and 10 of 11, the Beavers (20-11) remain red-hot heading into this weekend's pivotal three-game set with NEWMAC foe Springfield. Meanwhile, Wentworth (15-16) dips below the .500 mark with the loss.

Wentworth scored the first run of the ballgame in the top of the first, as sophomore Jon Spitz (Hanover, Mass.) doubled with one out, stole third, and scored on a two-out single to right by first-year Jake Mailman (Medway, Mass.). Mailman then plated the visitors' second run of the afternoon in the third, knocking in Spitz with a sacrifice fly to left.

The Leopards threatened to pull away in the fourth, scoring three times to knock junior starter Brian Swanton (Milton, Mass.) out of the game. Junior Alex Wong (Lewiston, Maine) drove in the first two with a double to right and then scored the third run of the frame on a base-hit to left by Spitz as Wentworth increased its lead to 5-0.

Babson came storming back to tie the game in the bottom half of the fourth, beginning with a leadoff walk to first-year Dillon Gonzalez (Beverly, Mass.) and a single to left by junior Trevor Boyce (Canton, Mass.). Junior Chris Kucher (Westwood, Mass.) then drove in the Beavers' first run of the afternoon with a double down the left field line, and senior captain Travis Jonasson (Needham, Mass.) followed with a two-run single to center to make it 5-3.

Later in the fourth, Babson had runners at the corners with two outs when junior John Botelho (Tempe, Ariz.) laced a double down into the left field corner, scoring both runners and knotting the score at 5-5.

Wentworth regained the lead in the top of the fifth, as senior Conner Flisnik (Marcy, N.Y.) drew a lead-off walk, stole second, and later scored on a two-out single to left by senior Justin Bolla (Groveland, Mass.). However, the Beavers again had the answer in the bottom of the inning, as Jonasson singled in another run and later scored on a balk to give the hosts their first lead of the day, 7-6.

The Beavers added a key insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, as Botelho hit a sacrifice fly to center to score senior pinch-runner Joe Nixon (Foxboro, Mass.) and give the hosts a two-run advantage. Wentworth then brought the tying run to the plate after a one-out single by Flisnik in the ninth, but Buress retired the final two batters to secure the 8-6 victory.

Buress allowed just one run on six hits, walking one and striking out five in 5 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. The victory improved his season record to 2-1.

The Babson offense was paced by Jonasson, who went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs, and Botelho, who also knocked in three. Senior Billy Miller (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) continued his torrid hitting of late with two more hits in the victory, and Kucher drove in a run and scored twice.

Senior righty Nick Colanto (Beverly, Mass.) started and suffered his first loss of the season for Wentworth, dropping his record to 3-1. Senior Kyle Cruz (Burlington, Conn.) pitched well out of the pen for the Leopards, allowing just one run in 3 1/3 innings, while Spitz led the offense with three hits, two runs scored, and one driven in. Wong, Flisnik, Bolla, and junior Ryan Delgado (Wareham, Mass.) each added two hits in defeat for the visitors, with Wong and Mailman knocking in two runs apiece.

(Release Courtesy of Babson Sports Information)

Babson 8, Wentworth 6 (04/18/12 at Babson Park, Mass.)
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Wentworth........... 101 310 000  -  6 13  1      (15-16)
Babson.............. 000 520 01X  -  8 10  0      (20-11)
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Pitchers: Wentworth - Nick Colanto; Kyle Cruz (5) and Ryan Delgado. Babson – Brian Swanton; Jeff Buress (4) and Sean Cleary.
Win-Jeff Buress (2-1); Loss-Nick Colanto (3-1); T-2:17; A-65