NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. – The Nichols College baseball team rallied from a 6-2 deficit to score four runs over the final three innings to defeat WPI, 10-8, on Tuesday afternoon in non-conference action at the New England Baseball Complex in Northborough, Mass.
 
The Bison improve to 5-7 with the win, while the Engineers drop to 7-6 overall. Nichols returns to action on Saturday afternoon when they open Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play with a doubleheader at Salve Regina University starting at 12:00 p.m.
 
Sophomore Christian Naccari went 2-for-5 with three RBI, including the two go ahead RBI in the top of the ninth, to lead the Nichols offense. Classmate Kyle Bouchard also had a multi-hit day, going 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI, while sophomore Ryan Nesbit went 1-for-5 with a pair of RBI.
 
Senior Cam Cook went 1-for-3 with a double and scored four runs, with senior Nick Roy working three walks and scoring twice. Senior Chris Anderson was 1-for-5 with two runs scored, while sophomore Christopher Cernigliaand freshman Shay Souza each going 1-for-3, with Cerniglia crossing the plate once.
 
Senior Kevin Kirley picked up the win in relief, while current CCC Rookie of the Week freshman Matthew Stewart earned his third save of the season in closing out the victory. Kirley gave up a run on two hits with a walk and one strikeout, while Stewart struck out a pair and worked around a walk and a single to close the door on the Engineers.
 
Senior Vincent Amato earned a no-decision in the start, allowing seven runs (five earned) on nine hits with a walk and two strikeouts in four innings of work. Freshman Dario Tarquinio pitched well in relief, scattering four hits and a walk with four strikeouts while give the Bison offense a chance to climb back into the game.
 
The Bison scored twice in the opening frame as Bouchard picked up a sac fly that scored Anderson and Naccari followed with an RBI single to plate Cook to put Nichols in front, 2-0. The Engineers answered with three runs apiece in the first and second innings to take a 6-2 advantage, and after Cam Cook stole home in the top of the third to cut the deficit in half, WPI got the run back on a homerun in the fourth to make it a 7-3 game.
 
Nichols started its comeback in the top of the fifth as the Bison had two runners in scoring position following a fly out to right from Roy. Anderson would score from third on a passed ball to trim the WPI lead to 7-4, while Cook moved to third on the play. Bouchard would follow with an RBI groundout to short to pull the Bison to 7-5.
 
The Bison would take advantage of a WPI fielding error in the top of the sixth as Cerniglia was able to score all the way from second on a throwing error by the WPI shortstop to make it a one run game at 7-6.
 
In the top of the seventh, the Bison had runners on the corners as Roy worked a one out walk and then moved to third on a single by Bouchard. Bouchard would move to second following a groundout from Naccari, and with two outs in the inning, Ryan Nesbit stepped in and stroked a two-run single to right field to put Nichols back on top, 8-7.
 
WPI would get one back in their half of the eighth to knot the game at 8-8, but the Bison would have the answer in their half of the ninth inning. Cam Cook led off the inning before stealing second base, and Nick Roy worked a walk to put two runners on with no outs. Kyle Bouchard followed with a single to right that would load the bases, and Naccari gave the Bison the lead for good as he slipped a single past the outstretched hands of the second baseman and into right field, plating Cook and Roy and gave Nichols the 10-8 lead.
 
Stewart came in to start the ninth and got an out before giving up a single to junior Alex Palermo. Palermo would move to second on a wild pitch, but Stewart would eventually strikeout junior Ryan Tropeano for the second out of the inning. After a walk to senior Evan Lacroix, Stewart came back to strikeout the final batter he faced and close out the 10-8 victory.
 
All-Time Series
Tuesday marked the 25th meeting between the two programs and the Engineers lead the all-time series, 14-9-2. The Bison snapped an eight game losing-streak to WPI with the win on Tuesday.