Rochdale, MA --- Senior Brandon Boucher (Manchester, NH) tossed 7 1/3 strong innings en route to picking up his first career victory and classmate Nick Bean (Middleboro, MA) belted a three-run homer to help propel WPI to a 8-2 non-conference baseball triumph over host Becker on Wednesday evening.  

With the win, the Engineers (20-12) reach the 20-win mark for just the fourth time in the 109-year history of the program with all four occasions occurring in the last six years under seventh-year head coach Mike Callahan.

The Engineers got on the board first when Tim Erlandson (Hudson, MA) hit an RBI single to center field in the top of the second, scoring Brendan Walsh (Windham, NH). In the top of the fourth, David Trujillo(Sutton, MA) tripled to right center, scoring Mitch McClune (Pembroke, MA). On the very next batter, Trujillo scored on an error, and Crimson and Gray went up 3-0.

Leicester, MA --- In the top of the fifth, Bean sent a three-run bomb over the left field fence, scoring Matt Blakeman (Bedford, NH) and Steve Petry (Worcester, MA) and giving WPI a 6-0 lead. Petry added an RBI single in the top of the sixth, scoring Erlandson as the Engineers went up 7-0. Erlandson scored from third on a wild pitch in the top of the eighth to put the visitors went up by eight runs.

The Hawks finally solved Boucher in the bottom of the eighth, when Joe Corey (Billerica, MA) hit a two RBI double to right field, scoring Chris Flanders (Londonderry, NH) and Tony D'Addio (West Haven, CT) and cutting the lead to 8-2. That would be as close as Becker would come, however, as Taylor Landry(Kennebunk, M$) came in to relieve Boucher, pitching 1 2/3 innings of shutout ball while allowing only two base-runners.

Boucher (1-4) earns his first win of the season while Joe Spero (Glastonbury, CT) (2-2) took the loss for Becker. For the Engineers, Petry finished 2-for-4 with a run and a RBI, one of seven WPI batters to record hits. Erlandson scored twice with a hit and an RBI.

Austin Phillips (Thomson, GA), Todd Tompkins (West Haven, CT) and Eric Lajoie (Oakham, MA) each had hits for the Hawks. D.J. Reed(Londonderry, NH) and Ben Keough (Attleboro, MA) combined for two innings of shutout relief for Becker in the eighth and ninth innings.

WPI now turns its attention to an important three-game series with MIT.  The series kicks off with a Friday afternoon contest at Wachusett Regional High School.  One win for WPI will qualify the Crimson and Gray for the 2012 NEWMAC Tournament.  Becker returns to action Thursday, hosting Worcester State.

Release Courtesy Becker Sports Information