WPI Rallies Past Fitchburg State, 14-8

Moreau belts two homeruns to lead Engineers to seventh victory of season

FITCHBURG, Mass. (March 18, 2009) - Junior Matt Moreau (Manchester, N.H./Manchester) connected for two homeruns as WPI topped Fitchburg State, 14-8 in non-conference action this evening.

AARON GRANAHAN

Moreau paced the WPI offense, hitting 2-for-5 with two homeruns, two runs scored and a game-high five RBI. Junior Joe Walsh (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) was also solid for the Engineers, finishing 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI, while senior Scott McNee (Falmouth, Mass./Falmouth) added three hits, two runs scored and two RBI.

Senior Aaron Granahan (Thomaston, Conn./Thomaston) led the Fitchburg State attack, connecting for his first homerun of the season, while freshman Tom Dolan (Stamford, Conn./Westhill) chipped in with one hit and team-high three RBI. Sophomores Chris Smart (Lowell, Mass./Lowell) and Ricky Graham (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) each finished 2-for-5 on the day.

Fitchburg State opened the contest with an early 7-0 advantage through the first four innings of play, but WPI rallied back, scoring 14 runs over the final five innings to secure its seventh victory of the season. Granahan started the scoring drive for the Falcons with a lead-off homerun in the bottom of the third, while Smart, Graham and sophomore Will Comerford (Ayer, Mass./Ayer) registered RBI hits in the Falcons scoring surge.  

TOM DOLAN

WPI responded in the top half of the fifth inning, plating six runs on six hits and one error to cut the Fitchburg State lead to one (7-6). Walsh ignited the Engineer rally with an RBI base-hit, while McNee plated two with an RBI base knock to right field.

The Crimson and Gray continued its offensive production over the next two frames, posting six runs on six hits to take a 12-8 lead. Moreau led the charge with a three-run homerun in the seventh inning, while Walsh recorded an RBI single in the sixth. The Engineers added two more runs on a Moreau homerun in the ninth to seal the victory.

Junior Marshall Miller (Greenfield, Mass./Greenfield) suffered the loss for the Falcons (1-1), yielding three earned runs on three hits over two innings of relief. Junior Jason Forte (Carlisle, Mass./Concord-Carlisle) picked up his first collegiate victory for the Engineers, tossing 1.2 innings of solid relief. The veteran hurler allowed only one earned run on two hits, while striking out one.        

Fitchburg State (6-4, 0-0 MASCAC) will hit the field again on Tuesday as it travels to Fisher College at 1 p.m. WPI (7-5, 0-0 NEWMAC) will be in action this weekend as it hosts Clark University in a Saturday afternoon doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.

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