East Providence, RI ---Johnson & Wales upended visiting WPI by a score of 12-4 in a non-conference baseball contest at Pierce Field on Tuesday afternoon.

Johnson & Wales got on the board in the bottom of the first when an RBI single by sophomore Alex Pezzuto (Hastings, NY) and a run scoring double by sophomore Jack Hocking (Hanover, MA) for the 2-0 lead. 

WPI responded in the top of the third after an RBI single by sophomore Matt Blakeman(Bedford, NH) made the score 2-1.  The Engineers then capitalized on a JWU miscue to tie the game at 2-2.  The visiting Engineers then took the 3-2 advantage when Blakeman scored on an RBI single by sophomore David Trujillo (Sutton, MA). 

JWU responded in the bottom of the fourth when they pushed across three runs, including back-to-back RBI doubles by junior Tyler Newell (Westerly, RI) and fellow junior James Reyes (Providence, RI) to put the Wildcats up 5-3.  After WPI closed the gap to 5-4 in the top of the fourth on an RBI single by junior Brendan Walsh (Windham, NH), JWU tacked on four unearned runs in the bottom of the frame to go ahead 9-4.  The Wildcats then added three more in the bottom of the eighth after a two run triple by Pezzuto en route to the 12-4 victory.

Newell went 4-for-4 with three runs and three RBI in the win for Johnson & Wales while sophomore Jake Dickerson (Garnet Valley, PA) was 2-for-3 with three runs and an RBI for the Wildcats.  Blakeman went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI in the setback for the Engineers.

Senior Mike Wood (Hudson, MA) picked up the victory on the mound for Johnson & Wales, allowing two earned runs on nine hits in six innings of work while Trujillo suffered the setback for WPI, allowing five earned runs on seven hits in four innings.

With the win JWU improves to 6-6 while WPI falls to 10-5 on the season.  The Wildcats will return to action on Wednesday, March 21st when they host UMass Boston in a non-conference contest at Pierce Field, starting at 3:30pm.  WPI opens a three-game NEWMAC series Friday at home versus Springfield.  The game will be played at 3:30pm at Wachusett Regional High School.

Release Courtesy Johnson & Wales Sports Information