Northboro, MA --- Sophomore Tyrone Patterson (Upper Marlboro, MD) delivered a walk-off three-run shot to right as WPI defeated Brandeis 12-9 in the Engineers home opener Thursday at the New England Baseball Complex.
Trailing 9-8 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, junior Steven Gallagher (Coventry, RI) walked and came around to score thanks to a double by senior Matt Howard (Worcester, MA). Sophomore David Larson (Port Tobacco, MD) then drew a walk before Patterson ended the game.
The Engineers needed at least two runs to win it as Brandeis freshman Mike Khoury (East Bridgewater, MA) capped a five run uprising in the top of the inning. The Judges also had a pair of outs when freshman Luke Hall (Georgetown, MA) singled to center and classmate Scott Ziegler (Avon, CT) reached on a fielder's choice to cut the deficit to a pair (8-6). Sophomore Donnie Weisse (Swampscott, MA) then evened it up with a 2-RBI knock through the right side. Khoury followed with the go-ahead RBI.
Khoury made his presence known earlier in the day as he sent the first pitch he saw over the fence in right for the 1-0 lead after one. He later walked, advanced to second on a ground out and third on a wild pitch before classmate Dan Frey (Ipswich, MA) chased him home with a two-out hit to left center in the third.
Sophomore Greg Tobin (Medway, MA) notched a career-high eight strikeouts through the first three innings, including a pair with two outs in the first and the side in a 1-2-3 third. The lefty, who was charged with the first three runs, yielded five hits and four walks in four-plus innings.
WPI junior Austin Lindner (W. Windsor, NJ) drove in the first of the aforementioned runs with a single to right in the bottom of the fourth. Larson, who allowed two runs on five hits and three walks and struck out three, then helped his own cause with a three-run shot to left in the fifth. With two outs and Linder on first, junior Benjamin Chaffee (Franklin, MA) greeted the second reliever of the frame with a first-pitch triple for the 5-2 advantage.
The Judges capitalized on a passed ball to make it 5-3 in the top of the sixth. WPI added two more in the home half as Gallagher and Howard connected on back-to-back home runs to center. Brandeis sophomore Dan O'Leary (Lynnfield, MA) drove an RBI single to center with a pair of outs in the seventh; however, Gallagher answered for the home team with a run-producing hit to center.
Howard batted 3-for-4 with a pair of walks, RBI and runs scored while Gallagher finished 2-for-4 with a pair of walks and RBI, and three runs scored. Patterson also had a pair of hits for WPI.
Freshman Isaac Fossas (Dudley, MA) went 3-for-4 while Frey and O'Leary each added a pair of hits and an RBI for the guests. Khoury bookended his day with a home run and a single.
Sophomores Kyle Wood (Hauppauge, NY), Nick Colucci (Lynnfield, MA) and Nick Tagaris (New City, NY) took the sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively. Juniors Dominic Fusco (North Haven, CT) and Tyler Weiss (Monroe, CT) handled the ninth. Freshman Mason Newman (New Rochelle, NY), senior Bradley Bousquet (Athol, MA), sophomore Kyle Shedden (Spencer, MA) and junior Daniel Schupper (Villanova, PA) all saw time on the mound for Brandeis.
WPI (6-5) is slated to host Mass. Maritime Saturday for two beginning at noon. Brandeis (1-6), who already has its weekend doubleheaders with Clark and Wentworth on hold, returns to action Wednesday at home versus Rhode Island College. First pitch is at 3:30pm.