May 13, 2009

WPI Wins NCAA Opener with Thrilling 7-6 Victory Over Suffolk

Mansfield, CT --- Catcher Joe Walsh (Weymouth, MA) hit a bloop single down the right field line in the bottom of the eighth inning, breaking a 6-6 tie and lifting WPI to a thrilling 7-6 victory over Suffolk (30-10) in opening day action of the NCAA D-III Baseball Tournament's New England Regional at Eastern Baseball Stadium in Mansfield, CT. The Engineers, now 29-11 on the year, will next play on Thursday at 4:30pm versus either NEWMAC rival Babson (22-18) or regional host and top-seeded Eastern Connecticut St. (36-6) in day two of the double-elimination regional. The win is WPI's first NCAA Tournament victory in its first appearance in the 106-year history of the baseball program.

Senior ace Conor Fahey (Cumberland, RI) started for WPI on three days rest and was masterful for his first seven and a third innings of work, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out 11 over that span. The senior allowed four earned runs on seven hits overall but did not pick up a decision. The 11 Ks marked Fahey's sixth double-digit strikeout game and 12th of his career. Fahey now has 115 strikeouts in 97.1 innings of work this year and sports a 1.40 ERA for the season.

After starting the eighth with a 6-2 lead, Fahey struck out the first batter of the inning before running into trouble as the next five Suffolk batters reached base. Center fielder Rory Gentile (Gloucester, MA) worked a one-out walk, followed by a single to center from 2B Paul Vittozzi (North Reading, MA) to start the Rams' uprising. Catcher Bobby Barrett (Milton, MA) reached on an error, loading the bases. Right fielder Keith Carter (Newburyport, MA) then came through with the key hit of the inning, a bases-clearing double, to pull Suffolk to within 6-5. The double was Carter's third extra-base hit off of Fahey on the day. DH Jon Handy (South Burlington, VT) followed Carter with a single to left to tie the game and give the Rams new life.

Thomas Whiting (Farmington Hills, MI) came on to relieve Fahey with the go-ahead run in scoring position and induced a ground ball out to end the Suffolk threat in the eighth, setting up Walsh's heroics. Bryan Watkins (Belmont, MA) led off the inning with a base hit, moving to second on a sacrifice bunt by Cody McGregor (Westfield, MA). Walsh, the ninth batter in the Engineer lineup and a .224 career hitter, came through for WPI as his check-swing bloop base hit chased Watkins home with what proved to be the winning run.

"All year it's been a total team effort led by our team leaders McNee and Fahey," declared Walsh. "I thought it was great today that I could step up and help out when our team needed it most."

Freshman starting pitcher Sean Minor (Los Angeles, CA) came on in a rare relief appearance in the ninth and encountered a bit of trouble before settling down to earn his first career save. Minor hit the first batter he faced who moved to third on a passed ball and a sacrifice bunt. Then, with the infield pulled in to cut off the run, Vittozzi bounced a one-hopper to the shortstop Galligan, who fired home to nail the runner at the plate. Minor then was able to get Carter, Suffolk's hottest hitter on the day, to fly out to right to clinch the first NCAA tournament win for the Engineers. A single from Carter would have tied the score and would have given the senior a cycle.

"It was just a hard-fought game, said WPI head coach Mike Callahan. "We were up early against a good team, but we knew they would fight back and they did. It wasn't looking too good for us for a while, but we battled and Whiting got a big out for us. Then Minor came in and closed the door. We just knew it was going to come down to that last inning."

Suffolk struck first in the top of the second inning, starting things off with a leadoff triple into the right field corner from Carter. Carter crossed the plate on a passed ball with the game's first run, giving Suffolk a 1-0 lead. The Engineers tied the score in the bottom half of the second, getting a two-out double to right from Mitch McClune (Pembroke, MA) who came around to score on a Watkins RBI double down the left field line.

WPI jumped out in front in the third, scoring on a one-out solo blast over the wall in left center from second baseman Mark Dignum (Albany, NY), his fifth home run of the season. Shortstop Paul Galligan (Weymouth, MA) followed with a gap double and was plated on a Matt Moreau (Manchester, NH) RBI single for a 3-1 Engineers lead after three.

Fahey and Suffolk starter Tim Doyle (Milton, MA) matched zeroes for the fourth and fifth innings before WPI broke through again for a run in the sixth to extend its lead to 4-1. The Rams answered right back in the top of the seventh, getting a leadoff home run from Carter to shave the Engineers advantage to 4-2.

In the bottom of the seventh, WPI added some much needed insurance, scoring two runs. Galligan was hit by a pitch with one out, coming all the way around from first on Moreau's seventh double of the season to push the lead back up to three. Moreau would later score on a two-out base hit from third baseman Nick Bean (Middleboro, MA) to push the lead to 6-2 before Suffolk rallied in the eighth to tie.

Whiting earned the win in 1/3 inning of work, improving to 2-1 on the season. Eight Engineers had hits on the day, led by Moreau who turned in a 2-for-4 effort with two RBI and a 2-for-3 day from Galligan who scored twice.

Dan Delia (Boston, MA) took the loss for the Rams in 1.1 innings of relief, falling to 7-2 on the season. Carter paced Suffolk at the plate, going 3-for-5 with three runs scored and four RBI. Gentile, Vittozzi, Barrett, Handy and Anthony Iacopucci (Medford, MA) each picked up a hit for the GNAC Champions, who will face the loser of today's second game between Eastern Connecticut and Babson.