Cambridge, MA --- MIT junior Thomas Allison (Kingwood, TX) clubbed a three-run homerun in the bottom of the ninth to lift the host Engineers past WPI, 7-6, in a NEWMAC baseball game Wednesday afternoon at Fran O'Brien Field.
With the win, MIT improves to 15-12-1 on the year and moves above .500 (7-6) in NEWMAC matchups. WPI is now 20-12 and 6-7.
Trailing 6-4 heading into the home half of the ninth, junior Matt Johnston (Portola Valley, CA) walked and sophomore Andrew Krause (St. Louis, MO) singled to set the stage for the game-ending swing by Allison.
MIT took the initial lead in the second thanks to an RBI double by sophomore Ethan Rolland (Burke, VA). Krause made it 2-0 with a home run to right in the third.
Freshman Michael Fraser (Mashpee, MA) leveled the game for WPI with a two-run double down the left field line in the fourth. Senior Jared Schwait (Boca Raton, FL) answered with an RBI fielder's choice to give MIT the 3-2 lead heading into the fifth.
Graduate student Matt Howard (Worcester, MA) then used a productive out to tie the game at 3-3 in the fifth. WPI later took the lead as junior David Larson (Port Tobacco, MD) sent a two-run shot over the fence in center field in the eight. Sophomore Jordan DeDonato (Danvers, MA) made it 6-3 with a two-out solo home run two batters later. Schwait, meanwhile, doubled in a key RBI with two outs in the bottom of the inning.
DeDonato and junior Tyrone Patterson (Upper Marlboro, MD) each batted 2-for-4 to go with a pair of RBI from Larson and Fraser. In all, six different Boynton Hillers logged an extra base hit on the day. Freshman Alexander Mondro (Westford, MA) struck out five while senior Dominic Fusco (North Haven, CT) shouldered the tough-luck loss.
Krause and freshman Cory O'Shea (Glen Allen, VA) each had a pair of hits for MIT while Schwait chipped in with a pair of RBI to go with the three by Allison. Senior Patrick Callahan (Vicksburg, MI) struck out six in seven innings in the no-decision as sophomore Casey Bussone (Danvers, MA) collected the win.
WPI opens s three game set with Springfield Friday at 3:30pm at the New England Baseball Complex. MIT begins its series at nationally-ranked Wheaton, also at 3:30pm on Friday.