Dudley, MA --- The WPI baseball team rallied from a seven-run deficit, but an RBI walk in the bottom of the 10th inning saw the Engineers fall to Nichols on the road on Sunday afternoon. WPI's season mark now stands at 9-3, while the Bison improved to 6-3 with the win. 

Spencer Merrick (Abington, MA) led the Engineers with two hits, three RBI, and a double. Andrew Cash (Marlboro, MA) and Jacob Hand (Niskayuna, NY) each had two hits with two RBI, with Hand launching a home run, his team-leading third of the year. Jack Zawacki (Pittsford, NY) finished with three hits and an RBI, while Dominic Monico (Litchfield, NH) and Tommy Burns (Morris Plains, NJ) each drove in runs, with Monico picking up his first career home run. Noah Pins (Holden, MA) suffered the loss on the mound, going one-third of an inning. 

For Nichols, Johnny Knox (Jefferson, NJ) finished the game 5-for-6 with a double, a grand slam, and five RBI. Will Kleinhenz (Madison, CT) and Dylan Moran (Trumbull, CT) both had three hits and an RBI, while Brennan Hyde (Tampa, FL), Ben Jerome (Waterford, CT), Karl Miller (Sandy Hook, CT), and William Nath (The Woodlands, TX) all drove in runs in the win. Clark Churchill (Windsor, CT) got the win in relief, throwing three scoreless innings, and allowing one hit while striking out three. 

Both teams plated runs in the first inning, with WPI opening the scoring by a Hand double coming around to score on a Burns single. Nichols answered with Knox singling and eventually scoring on a double steal. 

In the top of the second, WPI regained the lead with a pair of runs. DelMonte singled with one out before Hand sent a two-out pitch over the wall to make it 3-1. 

The Bison took their first lead of the game with one run in the third and two in the fourth to go up 4-3. In the third, a walk from Jerome scored on a single from Kleinhenz, while in the fourth, Knox knocked in a run on a single up the middle, and Hyde added an RBI fielder's choice to put Nichols up one. 

In the fifth inning, WPI tied the game at 4-4 on an RBI single from Merrick, but Nichols put up a lopsided number in the bottom of the frame, sending seven runs across the plate to make it 11-4. The Bison opened the scoring with an RBI single from Moran and then Miller worked a bases-loaded walk for the second run of the frame. Knox then hit a grand slam to make it 10-4 before an RBI single from Kleinholz made it an 11-4 game. 

The Engineers wasted no time tying it up, adding a seven-run frame of their own in the next at-bat. Monico led off the inning with a solo home run before DelMonte doubled, Battaglino walked, and Hand was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Cash then singled down the right field line to plate two more and Hand scored on a wild pitch to close the gap to 11-8. Trailing by three, Merrick laced a double to right to score two, while Zawacki tied it up with an RBI single. 

Neither team managed runs in the seventh, eighth, or ninth innings and the game moved to extras. WPI used small ball to sacrifice a lead-off single to second, but the runner was erased on a pick-off and Churchill got the final batter of the frame to ground out. 

In the Bison half of the 10th, Jim Marasco (Rochester, NY) was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning before a one-out infield single from Miller and an intentional walk to Knox loaded the bases. Jerome then worked a walk, getting the game-winning RBI for Nichols. 

WPI returns to the field on Tuesday, hosting Roger Williams at the New England Baseball Complex at 3:30pm. Nichols also plays Tuesday, hosting a doubleheader against Vermont State Lyndon beginning at 1:30pm.