Baseball Posts 7-5 Comeback Win Over Crosstown Rival WPI

Worcester, MA --- Junior Joe Perlak (Chicopee, MA) tossed six strong innings to earn his fourth victory over the season to help lead Worcester State to a 7-5 triumph over WPI in non-conference baseball action this afternoon at the Lyons Baseball Diamond.

The Engineers (14-9) staked the early 2-0 edge on the back of a two-run homer by sophomore Sean Greene (Hingham, MA). The blast was his NEWMAC-best third of the campaign.

After freshman Jake Ryan (Whitinsville, MA) scampered home for the Lancers (11-10) to cut the lead in half, the Boynton Hillers tacked on two more scores when Kelly laced a two-run single up the middle.

But a crooked number in the bottom of the fourth enabled the Blue and Gold to take over a 5-4 margin.

Senior Joe Carlier (Rockland, MA) started the outburst by crossing home on a fielding error by the first baseman. Ryan followed with a sacrifice fly before the catcher dropped the third out of the frame when junior Nick Gikas (Danvers, MA) scored on an attempted double-steal with two men down.  

Junior David Ruggiero (Peabody, MA) added the go-ahead run by coming home on a passed ball.

Worcester State pushed across a key insurance run in the bottom of the fifth for the two-run advantage. With runners on second and third, sophomore Dennis Duplessis (Marlboro, MA) slid across the plate on another misplay at home by the catcher.  

WPI, however, inched closer and made it a 6-5 game in the top of the sixth on an RBI single by senior Sean Kelly (Shrewsbury, MA/Holy Name), with two men down.

The Lancers answered in the bottom of the same inning when junior Jeff Bolio (Oxford, MA) doubled in Ruggiero, who led off the inning with a walk.

It was a battle of the bullpens over the contests final 2½ stanzas as WPI held the hosts in check and the Lancers did not allow another Engineer hit in the final three frames of play.

Perlak (4-0) had a rough start to as he gave up four earned runs on five hits over his first two innings before he settled down and yielded a trio of hits and one unearned score over his final four frames of work. Perlak fanned six, walked one and he hit one batter.

Junior Michael Ivas (Princeton, MA/Holy Name) rung up a trifecta of batters on strikes over his two scoreless innings and freshman Kris Doyle (Millbury, MA) hurled a perfect ninth for his first collegiate save.

Freshman CJ Doskocil (Sterling, MA) was saddled with the setback in his first career start. Over his 4 1/3 innings, Doskacil (0-1) allowed six runs (two earned) on five hits to go with one strikeout and three free passes.

Junior Andrew Portera (Alpharetta, GA) was effective over 2 2/3 stanzas, giving up an earned run in the sixth. Portera punched out two batters and freshman Dan Bettigole (S. Windsor, CT) held the Lancer bats in check with a 1-2-3 ninth.

WPI actually outhit their opponents 9-7 as Kelly finished went 3-for-4 with a walk and Green chipped in with a pair of base-knocks.

Gikas was the lone multi-hitter for the Lancers with a 2-for-3 performance in the ninth slot in the order.

Worcester State returns to action tomorrow at the Lyons Diamond against Nichols at 3:30 PM with the Bison playing as the home team. The Boynton Hillers start a three-game set with Coast Guard beginning with a 3:30 single game against the Bears on Friday.

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