Auburndale, FL --- The WPI baseball team split a pair of games against Wentworth at the RussMatt Invitational on Monday. The Engineers (1-3) won the opener 4-2 to give Head Coach Brendan Casey his first career win at WPI. In the nightcap, the Leopards posted a 5-1 win to finish the split and hand skipper Justin Kelley his first career victory as well.
WPI's Joe Salvon (West Springfield, MA) went 3-for-3 in game one, driving in two runs, while Andrew Gray (Millersville, MD) got the win, throwing four innings, and allowing eight hits with five strikeouts. Noah Pins (Holden, MA) threw a scoreless seventh inning to earn the save. For the Leopards, Matt Rice (Scottsdale, AZ) went 3-for-4.
Wentworth's Brady Aubuchon (Westminster, MA) got the win in game two, throwing four innings, and allowing just one run on two hits with a pair of strikeouts. At the plate for the Leopards, Brandon Sullivan (Quincy, MA) drove in two runs, while Jeffrey Brennan (Amsterdam, NY) had two hits and an RBI for WPI.
Game One
WPI dented the scoreboard first, plating a run in the top of the first, as a Salvon single scored Cash to make it 1-0. Back-to-back walks then loaded the bases for the Engineers but Wentworth got a strikeout to end the inning.
The Leopards responded in the bottom half of the inning, collecting four hits and a pair of runs to go up 2-1. Three straight singles opened the frame, with A.T. DiPina's (Pawtucket, RI) base knock tying the game at 1-1. A wild pitch made it 2-1 Wentworth before WPI's Gray got a fly-out and a strikeout to end the inning.
WPI pushed two runs across in the top of the fourth to regain the lead, as a wild pitch scored Jack Zawacki (Pittsford, NY) and Salvon drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 4-2 Engineers. The Crimson and Gray would add an insurance run in the top of the sixth as Brennan picked up a sacrifice fly that put WPI up 5-2.
Wentworth had a pair of runners in both the sixth and seventh innings but the Engineers worked around it to finish out the game one win.
Game Two
Wentworth took an early lead with two runs in the top of the first and one more in the top of the third. In the first, a lead-off single from Matthew Favazzo (Lexington, MA) came around to score after three straight walks. After a strikeout, another bases-loaded walk pushed it to 2-0 before a double-play ended the inning.
Walks hampered the Engineers once again in the third, as a one-out walk to Aaron Lundgren (Portsmouth, N.H) came around to score on a fielding error making it 3-0. WPI got on the board in the bottom of the frame, cutting it to 3-1, as a Brennan single scored Nicholas Battaglino (Marlboro, MA) who led off the inning with a walk.
The Leopards tacked on solo runs in the top of both the fifth and seventh innings to push the score to 5-1. In the fifth, a lead-off single from Lundgren scored on a groundout from Mike Sibert (Billerica, MA), while in the seventh Sullivan launched a solo homerun over the right field fence.
The Engineers had two on with one out in the bottom of the seventh but Wentworth's Brodi Farinas (Lewiston, ME) got the final two batters on a strikeout and a flyout to close out the win.
Both teams continue play at the Invitational on Wednesday. WPI returns to action playing Rensselaer at 9:30am and Anna Maria at 1pm, while Wentworth will entertain Vassar for a pair beginning at 2:45pm.