Northboro, MA --- In a back-and-forth game, the WPI baseball team came up on the short end, falling 9-8 on the road at Emerson on Tuesday afternoon. The loss dips the Engineers to 15-8 overall, 3-2 in conference play, while the Lions improve to 4-16, 1-6 in NEWMAC action.
Liam Keblin (Newton, MA) had a four-hit game, adding two RBI in the loss. Zachary Roethlein (Pomfret Center, CT) drove in a pair of runs on his first career home run. Jacob Hand (Niskayuna, NY) belted his team-leading eighth homer, and Spencer Merrick (Abington, MA) and Jonathan Lattimer (Windsor, CT) each added two hits and an RBI. Eric DePiero (Beverly, MA) took the loss, throwing two innings, allowing one earned run on five hits with two strikeouts.
Jake Morvillo (Glen Ridge, NJ) got the victory, throwing two innings, allowing no runs and two hits with one strikeout. Aidan Rice (Columbus, OH) got the save, throwing a scoreless ninth inning.
Braeden O'Connell (Boxford, MA) led Emerson at the plate going 2-for-4 with three RBI. Blake Benway (Fairfield, CT) drove in two runs, while Chris Ferara (Coral Springs, FL) had three hits and an RBI.
Briggs Loveland (Burleson, TX) and Justin Fields (Glen Ridge, NJ) also drove in runs for the Lions in the win.
WPI jumped out to a 2-0 lead with runs in the top of the first and second innings. Hand belted a solo shot in the first, while an RBI single from Keblin plated Lattimer in the second.
Emerson tied the game at 2-2 with a pair in the bottom of the third. Loveland scampered home on a wild pitch for their first run of the game, while an O'Connell sacrifice fly tied the game.
The Lions took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the fifth, plating three to lead 5-2. O'Connell drove in his second game run on a single to center field before Benway added two RBI on a single to right, putting Emerson up three.
WPI got one back in the top of the sixth as Keblin singled through the right side, but Emerson pushed the lead back to 7-3 with two in the bottom of the frame. O'Connell plated one on an RBI ground-out, while Fields singled to right to score another.
The Engineers exploded for five in the top of the seventh inning to take an 8-7 lead. Burns led off with a single and was sent home on a two-run home run from Roethlein. A Merrick double scored the third run of the inning before an RBI single from Lattimer and a DJ Brooks (Danvers, MA) RBI ground-out put WPI on top.
However, Emerson wasted no time getting back on top, plating two in the bottom of the seventh to go up 9-8. A solo home run from Ferara tied the game at 8-8 and four batters later, Loveland singled home the go-ahead run.
WPI had two on in the top of the ninth, as Brooks singled and Cash walked, but Morvillo got the final batter of the game to strike out to season the Lions' first NEWMAC victory of the season.
Both teams now have non-conference clashes on Thursday. WPI will head to UMass Dartmouth for a 3:30pm start, while Emerson is at Curry at 3pm.