THE BASICS:
- Records: MIT (23-17-1); Oswego State (29-13)
- Scores: MIT 5, Oswego State 4
- Location: Gorham, Maine (Ed Flaherty Field)
- The Lead: Jumping out to a 5-1 lead, the MIT baseball team has advanced into the winner's bracket following a 5-4 victory over Oswego State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night. This is the fifth NCAA Tournament appearance for the Engineers and first since the 2015 season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- After both teams threatened in the first, the Engineers got on the board on the first pitch of the second as senior Alec Kushner (Cooper City, Fla.) homered just inside the left field foul pole for the 1-0 lead. The homer was his second of the postseason and third overall.
- Sophomore Zach Roberts (West Chester, Pa.) drew a walk and moved into scoring position with his sixth stolen base of the season. Senior Jared Schwait (Boca Raton, Fla.) brought him in as he dropped a single into shallow right field for the 2-0 lead.
- Nick Chilson came in on an RBI fielder's choice for Oswego in the fifth, cutting the advantage in half. The score remained that way until the top of the fifth when junior Matt Johnston (Portola Valley, Calif.) flew out to center for the sacrifice fly to plate Schwait and make it a 3-1 margin.
- MIT sophomore Casey Bussone (Danvers, Mass.) came on in relief to start the third inning and had three 1-2-3 innings to keep the Engineers lead at 3-1. In the eighth, Roberts hit a ball down the third base line that stayed just fair and scored sophomore Andrew Krause (St. Louis, Mo.) from third for the 4-1 advantage. MIT added another run in the ninth as Schwait scored on the second sacrifice fly of the day for the 5-1 lead.
- In the bottom of the ninth, MIT picked up two outs before the Lakers made things interesting. A Ryan Weiss single to left scored Brandon Nicholson to make it 5-2, followed by a two-RBI double inside the left field line that scored Jonathan Luppens and Justin Troelstra. With Leone in scoring position with the potential game-tying run, MIT sophomore shortstop Ethan Rolland (Burke, Va.) made a tremendous throw to end the game and secure the victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Schwait went 3-for-5 with two runs scored in the leadoff spot, while Roberts had two hits, one run scored and one run batted in. Weiss was the lone Laker with multiple hits and Rocco Leone posted a game-high three runs batted in.
- Bussone threw the final seven innings in relief of starter Patrick Callahan (Vicksburg, Mich.) as he scattered six hits with six strikeouts and one walk to move to 3-3. Brian Nolan took the loss for the Lakers, falling to 6-2 after seven innings as he struck out eight with seven hits, four runs allowed and three walks.
- This marked the first-ever meeting with Oswego State and tomorrow's game will be the first-ever clash with New England College.
UP NEXT:
- MIT moves into the winner's bracket and will take on New England College beginning at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 18th. The winner of that game will advance to the regional championship on Sunday, while the losing team will play the winner of Southern Maine/Oswego State at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
STAY CONNECTED:
- For the latest on MIT Athletics, follow the Engineers via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.