WORCESTER -- The WPI baseball team jumped out to a 7-0 lead and held on for a 7-4 victory on the road in NEWMAC action at Clark's Granger Athletic Complex on Tuesday afternoon. The Engineers improve to 18-12-1 overall, going to 6-5 in NEWMAC play, while the Cougars dip to 20-13 and 4-9.
WPI pounded out 12 hits in the game with the Engineers' pitching staff holding Clark to just three. Noah Pins (Holden, MA) moved to 5-1 on the season with a seven-inning outing, allowing one hit with four strikeouts. Eric DePiero (Beverly, MA) earned his fourth save of the season, pitching a scoreless ninth inning with one strikeout.
At the plate for the Engineers, Tommy Burns (Morris Plains, NJ) and Andrew Cash (Marlboro, MA) both increased their team-leading home run totals, with Burns hitting his 12th of the year and Cash adding his ninth, as they each finished the game with two hits and two RBI. Spencer Merrick (Abington, MA) led the Engineers with three hits, also adding two RBI, while Jack Zawacki (Pittsford, NY) also drove in a run and DJ Brooks (Danvers, MA) added two hits.
For Clark, Ryan Bonja (Sturbridge, MA) accounted for the bulk of the Cougars' offense, driving in two runs on one hit. Billy Sullivan (Hicksville, NY) added an RBI, and Tyler Jones (West Haven, CT) and Michael Soares (Concord, MA) also added hits. Casey Gorczyca (Boonton, NJ) took the loss, going 2.1 innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits.
WPI got off to a hot start with three runs in the top of the first. Cash got on with a one-out infield single and Burns followed him with a two-run shot to left. After a strikeout, Jonathan Lattimer (Windsor, CT) and Merrick belted back-to-back doubles to make it a three-run advantage.
The Engineers pushed the lead to 5-0 with two in the top of the third. One-out walks from Zachary Roethlein (Pomfret Center, CT) and Lattimer started to put two on for Merrick, who doubled down the left-field line for the first run of the inning. Zawacki added an RBI groundout to put WPI up five.
The visitors' advantage grew to 7-0 with two more WPI runs in the top of the seventh. Hand led off the frame before Cash hit his dinner to left to make it a seven-run lead for the Engineers.
Clark finally broke through in the bottom of the eighth. Soares started the frame with a single and after a strikeout, back-to-back walks loaded the bases. Sullivan hit into a fielder's choice that got the Cougars on the board, before Bonja singled to center to score a pair. Clark then cut the lead to 7-4, as Carter Doran (Natick, MA) scampered home on a wild pitch.
After a scoreless top of the ninth, WPI's DePiero thwarted any hope of a Clark comeback. He got a ground-out, strikeout, and fly-out to end the inning and seal the win for the Engineers.
WPI is back on the diamond for two at Springfield on Saturday beginning at 12pm. Clark has a single game on Thursday, hosting Nichols at 3:30pm.