Northboro, MA --- The WPI baseball team outlasted visiting Wentworth 9-5 in a non-conference Monday matinee at the New England Baseball Complex. The Engineers even their season mark to 12-12 with the win, while the Leopards fell to 1-19 with the loss.
WPI racked up 12 hits in the game with Jake DelMonte (Southington, CT) accounting for three including a pair of doubles, adding an RBI and two runs scored. Tommy Burns (Morris Plains, NJ) was 2-for-4 with a homerun and three RBI, while Jack Zawacki (Pittsford, NY) had two hits and two RBI with a homerun.
On the mound for WPI, Owen Radcliffe (Holliston, MA) got the win, his second of the year, tossing six innings and allowing five runs on 10 hits. Luke Blandino (Eden, NY), Gavin Maloney (West Boylston, MA), and Noah Pins (Holden, MA) were masterful in relief, each throwing a scoreless and hitless inning with two strikeouts. Pins picked up the save, his third of the year, finishing out the ninth inning.
The Leopards' bats were led by Mike Sibert (Billerica, MA) and Matt Robinson (Mystic, CT) who collected two hits each, while Christian Peruzzi (Plymouth, MA) drove in two runs.
Wentworth got off to a hot start, using four hits to score three runs in the top of the first. Sibert and Nick Cullinan (Sandy Hook, CT) led off the game with singles and a double from Peruzzi made it 1-0. After a strikeout, an A.T. DiPina (Pawtucket, RI) groundout pushed home Cullinan for the second run before a Robinson single plated Peruzzi. WPI catcher Kyle DeRoma (Dracut, MA) got the Engineers out of the inning, throwing out Robinson at second to limit the damage to three runs.
WPI got two back in the bottom of the frame, as Jacob Hand (Niskayuna, NY) led off with a double and back-to-back walks to Jeffrey Brennan (Amsterdam, NY) and Kyle Johns (Milltown, NJ) loaded the bases with one out. DeRoma reached on a fielder's choice to make it 3-1 and Brennan scored on a passed ball to make it 3-2, but a fly-out ended the inning.
The Engineers tied it up in the bottom of the third as Zawacki launched a solo shot to tie the game at 3-3.
The Engineers took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the fourth with three runs on three hits. DelMonte started the inning with a double down the left field line before Burns belted a homerun to make it 5-3 WPI. After a pair of strikeouts, a two-out rally saw an infield single from Hand score on a Zawacki double to left center to make it 6-3.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Engineers put up another three spot, using four more hits to go up by six. Back-to-back ground rule doubles from DeRoma and DelMonte started the scoring before a Burns double made it 8-3. Shane McLaughlin (Brewster, NY) drove in the third run of the frame on a single to right center before Wentworth got out of the inning.
The Leopards cut the lead to 9-5 with two runs off three hits in the top of the sixth. Nolan McManus (Milton, MA) led off with a solo shot to right field, while a DiPina double was sent home on a Jake Prisco (Bridgewater, MA) groundout. Radcliffe then got a flyout to end the threat.
From there, WPI's relievers shut down Wentworth, not allowing a hit in the final three innings to seal the victory.
WPI jumps back to NEWMAC play, hosting Emerson tomorrow at the New England Baseball Complex at 3:30pm. Wentworth has a GNAC battle next, playing at Western New England on Wednesday at 3:30pm.