Div. 3: UMass Boston, Babson enjoy inspired College World Series trips

Eddie Riley (Quincy, Mass.) went 6-for-12 with a homer to lead UMass Boston at the College World Series (UMass Boston Athletics)

New England’s representatives at the Division 3 College World Series wrote slightly different tales throughout this spring, but their results in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, were nearly identical.

As two New England teams played among the nation’s final eight for the second time in three years, the region was just one win away from having one of its teams make a championship appearance for the first time since 2013. UMass Boston won multiple World Series games for the first time in its three trips this decade, while Babson played three one-run games during its first-ever trip and ultimately lost two of them to Johns Hopkins.

UMass Boston (37-14) beat Webster and Chapman to begin its second World Series run in three years as the last remaining undefeated team in Pool A, but the eventual national champion and sixth-ranked Panthers ousted the three-time defending Little East winners from title contention with consecutive 8-4 wins on Sunday and Monday.