Worcester, MA --- WPI saw its offense erupt for 25 runs and 33 hits and the Engineers avenged a series opening loss on Friday to crosstown rival Clark University by sweeping Saturday's twinbill with the Cougars by scores of 14-7 and 11-4 in New England Women's And Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) baseball action at Granger Field.
The Engineers improve to 12-7 overall and 5-2 in conference action, while the Cougars, who have lost eight of their last nine games, fall to 5-16 and 2-7 in league games.
Sean Greene (Hingham, MA) was the catalyst for the WPI attack, going 6-for-10 on the day with five runs scored, five RBI, including his first collegiate homerun in game two. Not to be outdone,Steve Petry (Worcester, MA) had a stellar day as well, collecting five hits in 11 at-bats and driving in five runs of his own.
Game 1: WPI 14, Clark 7
WPI jumped out to an early 4-0 lead highlighted by a Greene two-run double in the bottom of the third. They extended their advantage to 5-0 when Anthony Capuano (Stoneham, MA) connected on a single to right that plated Petry who led off the inning with a double to left.
Clark answered back getting four runs in the fourth as Matt Asdornvuttikrai (Winchester, MA) delivered the big blow – a two-run single to center.
The Engineers then put together a six-run fifth inning to widen their advantage. It started with Greene singling to center and continued with a Petry two-run double to left. Alex Vendetti(Newton, MA) drove in a run with a single as did Brendan Walsh (Windham, NH). Greene actually came up twice in the inning and in his second appearance, he knocked in a run with single to left.
Ahead 11-4, WPI kept coming, tacking on three runs in the sixth on a Capuano RBI double and a Walsh two-run single to left.
James Conway (Newburyport, MA) drove in a run for the Cougars in the eighth on a groundout and then Asdornvuttikrai pushed another across with a sacrifice fly to left.
Crimson and Grey hurler Taylor Landry (Kennebunk, ME) was extremely effective on the mound, tossing eight innings, allowing just one earned run while striking out five to improve to 4-1 on the season.
Clark scratched across single run in the ninth off of reliever David Trujillo (Worcester, MA) whenDaniel Lima (Manchester, CT) doubled home Kevin Mawe (Dedham, MA).
Cougar starter Mike Mainuli (Glastonbury, CT) went two innings, giving up just one hit and two runs before exiting for Austin Knief (Scarsdale, NY) who yielded seven earned runs in 2.2 innings.
Game 2: WPI 11, Clark 4
In the nightcap, Clark actually jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second on the strength of back-to-back doubles from David Eschen (New York, NY) and Conway.
Things stayed that way until the fourth when WPI evened the score. After Greene reached on a fielder's choice, he made it to third on a Zach Blanchard (Warwick, RI) single and came around to score on a Petry single to left.
WPI broke things open in the fifth with three runs highlighted by Greene's two-out, two-run blast to centerfield.
After Tyler Hutchinson (Greene, ME) led off the fifth with double and came around to score later in the inning for the Scarlet and White to make the score 4-2, the Engineers pushed four runs across in the seventh. Petry had the big hit with a two-run double to left and D.J. Ouellette (Watertown, CT) and Blanchard each had RBI singles.
Hutchinson tried to keep the Cougars close with a two-run triple to left that scored Conway and Asdornvuttikrai, but WPI added a run in the eighth on a Walsh sacrifice fly and then two more in the ninth on a Sean Kelly (Shrewsbury, MA) single and Nick Comei (Haverhill, MA) crossing the dish on a wild pitch.
Mike Vaitkunas (Auburn, MA) was strong on the mound for WPI, tossing seven solid innings, while scattering seven hits and allowing four earned runs.
Miles Sheehan (Madison, CT) suffered the loss for Clark, allowing a season-high 13 hits and eight runs in 6.1 innings.
The Cougars return to the diamond on Tuesday with a road contest at Babson, while WPI is back in action on Sunday a with a doubleheader against Emerson at Clark's Granger Field.
Release Courtesy Clark Sports Information