CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - After trailing 4-0 in the seventh inning, the
MIT
baseball team scored 5 unanswered runs to defeat non-conference
opponent
Suffolk University 5-4 in an extra-inning thriller Monday on Briggs
Field.
With the win, the Engineers move to 6-8 on the year, while the loss
evens
the Rams at 9-9.
Suffolk struck first blood in the top of the third inning. Junior
Nick
Travelyn led off with a single and advanced to third on a grounder
and
stolen base. Freshman Chris Stanley picked up an RBI with a single
to right
field, driving in Travelyn and putting the Rams up 1-0.
In the sixth, Suffolk opened up the lead as senior Rory Gentile
started the
inning with a single and later slipped to third on a fielding
error. Senior
Bobby Barrett scored Gentile on a grounder, while classmate Marc
Doyle
picked up another RBI with one of his four hits on the day.
Freshman
Jhonneris Mendez slid a grounder through the middle to score a
third run for
the Rams, giving them a 4-0 lead. Freshman Aric Dama left the mound
after
the inning, notching 2 strikeouts and 2 walks to accompany his 4
runs (3
earned).
MIT's seventh-inning response began with singles from freshman
Ricardo Perez
and junior William Blackman. A sacrifice bunt by sophomore Bryan
Macomber
set up an RBI-grounder for sophomore A.J. Hansborough to narrow the
lead to
4-1, breaking a streak of fifteen scoreless runs for the Engineers.
Suffolk
pitcher Andrew Babb left the game after seven, striking out 2, with
4 walks
and 1 earned run.
Columbus Leonard pitched two scoreless innings of relief for the
Engineers,
allowing only one hit in the seventh and eighth.
Tech's rally continued in the bottom of the eighth when reliever
Chris
Campbell threw two walks in his first batters faced. Sophomore
Charles
Kilgore entered the game to break the momentum, but after another
walk
loaded the bases, Perez doubled to right center, driving two home.
Blackman,
next at bat, reached on error and brought in the tying run.
As the inning continued, the Engineers had runners on first and
third with
only one out and the score tied at 4-4. Looking to escape trouble,
Suffolk
capitalized on an MIT miscue when catcher Mark Annese successfully
ran down
pinch runner Sean Fannin on third.
The Rams' closer Mendez, who had moved to the mound from third,
closed out
the inning two batters later, and solid pitching in the ninth took
the game
to extra innings.
Suffolk managed to get two runners on base in the top of the tenth,
but MIT
closer Henry Zhu left them stranded.
In the bottom of the inning, junior Ryne Barry came through for the
Cardinal
and Gray, leading off with a single to right field. Fannin's
sacrifice bunt
and a single from Blackman pushed Barry to third with one out. In
MIT's
second walk-off in 4 days, Macomber closed out the game with a shot
to right
center, bringing home Barry and the 5-4 win.
After two run-less innings, Zhu (2-0) lowered his season ERA to
0.68. Mendez
(3-2) was credited with the loss after two innings thrown with 1
strikeout,
1 walk and 1 run.
The Engineers look to pick up their first conference win when they
play
again on Tuesday, April 6, hosting NEWMAC rival Springfield
College. The
Rams next travel to Roger Williams College for a non-conference
game on
Wednesday, April 7. Both games begin at 3:30 p.m.
(Story courtesy of MIT Sports Information)