Northboro, MA --- Senior Garrett Greenwood (Edmond, OK) struck out five and put MIT on the board with a home run and sophomore Trey Roberts (Cedar Park, TX) drove in three of the Engineers five runs in the fifth of game one, and sophomore Thomas Allison (Kingwood, TX) homered twice in game two as MIT swept a NEWMAC crossover doubleheader from host WPI Saturday at the New England Baseball Complex. Cambridge's Engineers (4-3) won the opener 8-5 and nightcap 11-3.
WPI (7-9) senior Matt Howard (Worcester, MA) pushed the initial run of the day across with a 2-2 single to center with one out in the bottom of the first. Greenwood helped his own cause with a leadoff blast to right to even the game at 1-1 in the top of the third.
Cambridge's Engineers then dented the scoreboard five times in the fifth. Sophomore Matt Johnston (Portola Valley, CA) scored on a throwing miscue before senior Kyle Kocher (Mesa, AZ) sent an RBI single to left and Roberts connected on the bases-clearing triple. MIT plated a pair of insurance runs in the sixth as Greenwood scampered home on a passed ball and Allison chipped in with a productive ground out.
The Boynton Hillers pulled one back with a two-out RBI single by sophomore Tyrone Patterson (Upper Marlboro, MD) in the home portion of the sixth. The game remained 8-2 until WPI inched closer with another two out hit by Patterson, this time a 2-RBI triple to left center in the bottom of the eighth. Senior Evan Lacroix (Methuen, MA) chased home the final run with a fielder's choice in the ninth.
Patterson finished 3-for-4 with a triple, a stolen base and three RBI. Howard followed with a pair of hits to go with a pair of runs scored by Lacroix (double, stolen base). Junior Ryan Tropeano (Pembroke, MA) stole two bases in the effort.
Senior Steven D'Agostino (Worcester, MA) struck out six before handing the ball to sophomore Kyle Wood (Hauppauge, NY) for 3 1/3. Classmate Matt Woods (Wilmington, MA) enjoyed a 1-2-3 ninth.
Johnston (RBI, run, stolen base) led MIT with three hits while Greenwood (walk, stolen base, HR, RBI, 2 runs) and Roberts (triple, 3 RBI) collected a pair. Senior David Heller (Fair Lawn, NJ) also tripled as classmate Max Lancaster (Attleboro, MA) and freshman Ethan Rolland (Burke, VA) doubled, and junior Jared Schwait (Boca Raton, FL) swiped a bag. Sophomore Tony Rice (Colorado Springs, CO) took over for Greenwood while freshman Adam Katz (Kisco, NY) finished the game for MIT.
WPI began the second game with a 2-0 lead after one. Patterson scored on a Lacroix single and Tropeano followed with an RBI ground out. MIT pulled even in the top of the second courtesy of a passed ball and a two-out double down the right field line by Roberts. The visiting Engineers resumed scoring after a quick half inning on defense. Johnston (2 RBI) and Allison launched back-to-back home runs and Rolland drove a two-out RBI single to right for the 6-2 advantage. Three more went on the scoreboard in the fourth as Greenwood touched home thanks to a miscue on a double steal and Allison sent a two-run blast to left.
Heller crossed home plate in the sixth thanks to a Lancaster RBI ground out and again in the eighth on a miscue. WPI had the final say with a sacrifice fly off the bat of freshman pinch hitter Nick Rath (Medford, MA) in the bottom of the eighth.
Lacroix posted a pair of hits and junior Benjamin Chaffee (Franklin, MA) clubbed a double. Five pitchers worked the game including junior starter Doug Rives (Bethany, CT) and senior Aidan Freeburg (Arlington, MA), who struck out three apiece.
Allison finished 2-for-5 with four RBI and two runs scored. Junior Alec Kushner (Cooper City, FL) batted 2-for-4 while Heller doubled, stole two bases and walked three times with four runs scored. Johnston (HR) walked twice and Lancaster (double, stolen base) scored twice. Roberts doubled and Greenwood collected two more stolen bases.
Junior Patrick Callahan (Vicksburg, MI) struck out four in the first six innings. Freshman Tommy Hannan (San Marino, CA) added three strikeouts in an inning of relief. Senior Zach Michaud (Morristown, NJ) and junior Jack Murphy (Pleasanton, CA) also saw time on the hill for MIT.
WPI hosts Babson, who is receiving votes in three national polls, including the D3baseball.com Top 25, Tuesday at 3:30pm. MIT heads to Worcester Sunday for a 4pm first pitch with St. Joseph's (ME) at Clark.