Babson Park, MA -- The WPI baseball team split a doubleheader with NEWMAC-rival Babson on Sunday afternoon at Govoni Field. The result moves the Engineers to 17-12-1 overall, 5-5 in the NEWMAC, while Babson moves to 17-9 overall, 7-3 in conference play. 

The Engineers were the home team in the games, which were originally slated for a Saturday start in Worcester. 

Game One

WPI held off a ninth-inning rally to close out a 4-3 win in the opener. Owen Radcliffe (Holliston, MA) threw eight innings of shutout ball, striking out six, while allowing only four hits to move to 5-2. Eric DePiero (Beverly, MA) earned the save, his third of the season, getting the final out of the game. 

Jacob Hand (Niskayuna, NY) did the bulk of the heavy lifting for the Engineers' offense, driving in three runs on his team-leading 11th home run of the season. Tommy Burns (Morris Plains, NJ) added a hit and an RBI in the win. 

For Babson, Ike Kiely (Falmouth, ME) collected a pair of hits, while driving in a run and Walter Sadowsky (Morristown, NJ) added a double. On the bump, Greg Nieskens (Pine Brook, NJ) took the loss (2-2), going eight innings, allowing four earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts. 

WPI got the scoring started in the bottom of the first, taking advantage of Hand being hit by a pitch. After a stolen base and a strikeout, Burns singled to center to score Hand to put the Engineers up 1-0. 

Babson threatened in the top of the second, loading the bases on two singles and a WPI error, but Radcliffe got the final out of the inning to keep the Beavers scoreless. 

Neither team managed more than one baserunner until WPI struck for three more runs in the bottom of the eighth. Spencer Merrick (Abington, MA) started the inning with a single, while a base hit from Liam Keblin (Newton, MA) put two on. A fielder's choice off the bat of DJ Brooks (Danvers, MA) saw Merrick thrown out at the plate for the second out, but Hand blasted a three-run shot to right center to put the Engineers up 4-0. 

In the top of the ninth, Babson rallied with two outs to score three. A hit by pitch and a double from Sadowsky put two on before a wild pitch made it 4-1. Kiely followed with a single to left to score another, while back-to-back walks loaded the bases. Another wild pitch cut the WPI lead to 4-3, but the final batter grounded out as the Engineers escaped with the win. 

Game Two

After both team's offense struggled in game one, Babson struck for 20 hits in game two, running away with a 19-4 game to earn the split. 

WPI's offense was paced by Andrew Cash (Marlboro, MA) who launched his eighth homer of the year, while Keblin also doubled and drove in a run in the loss. Luke Blandino (Eden, NY) got the start, going four innings, allowing five earned runs on seven hits to go to 2-3 on the season. 

For Babson, Alexander Wilson (Milburn, NJ) and John Nowak (Pelham, NY) both collected four hits with three RBI, with Nowak finishing a double shy of the cycle. Luke Tanner (Los Angeles, CA) had three hits, three RBI, and three runs scored, while Jack Julian (Manchester, MA) had four hits and two RBI, and Kiely added two hits and two RBI. James Clark (Southborough, MA) got the win, going six innings, allowing four runs on six hits with three strikeouts. 

Babson struck for a run in the top of the first, as Nowak tripled to plate Tanner. WPI responded in the bottom of the second, tying the game on an RBI double from Keblin, which scored Matt Shea (Andover, MA). 

Babson added four in the top of the third, starting with a two-RBI single from Tanner to right field. Nowak followed with another single to drive in a run, while Ryan Liss (Hollywood, FL) drove in another on a sacrifice fly to left to make it 5-1. 

The Beavers made it 6-1 with a run in the top of the fourth off a Julian single and then added two in the top of the fifth on a single from Wilson to make it 8-1. 

WPI cut it to 8-3 with two in the bottom of the fifth, as Cash belted a two-run blast to right field that also scored Hand. 

Each team plated a run in the sixth, with Babson getting a solo homer from Nowak and WPI scoring on a double play to make it 9-4. 

Babson pushed it to 12-4 with three in the top of the seventh. Julian started the scoring with a well-placed infield single, while Tanner tripled to center for the second run. A double from Brant Savage (Charlton, MA) then drove in another, as the Beavers went up by eight. 

Babson tacked on seven more in the top of the eighth inning, setting the final to 19-4. Kiely and Wilson picked up RBI singles to start the inning, while Wilson scored on a wild pitch. Owen Stephens (Glastonbury, CT) drove in a run on a fielder's choice, Chris Basile (Miami, FL) added an RBI single, and Kiely got the final RBI on a bases-loaded walk. 

The Engineers are back in action on Tuesday at 3:30pm, playing a single game at Clark. Babson hosts Wheaton on Tuesday also at 3:30pm.