Baseball Drops Back-and-Forth Battle at WPI, 13-10

NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. – Suffolk baseball fell behind early and attempted to play catch-up multiple times but could not shutdown WPI's bats to fall to the Engineers, 13-10, Monday at the New England Baseball Complex. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 10 | WPI 13
RECORDS: Suffolk (4-4) | WPI (8-6)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk found itself in a three-run hole after WPI put a pair across in the second and added another in the fourth 

The Rams made up some ground in the top of the fifth with a two-out rally. Jonny Gilbride wore a pitch to keep the inning going and turned on his running shoes when Max Iorio singled up the middle to put the blue-and-gold on the board. After Garret Roberts drew a walk, Harry Painter blasted a base hit through the right side to bring in Iorio and make it a one-run, 3-2 game. 

Once again Suffolk found itself chasing multiple runs as WPI restored its three-run advantage in the home half of the inning with two runs on three hits. 

Down 5-2 with two dead and Rams on first and second in the top of the sixth, Gilbride barreled a homer to left field to level the playing field at 5-all.  

The see-saw affair continued in the bottom of the inning as WPI's response came in the form of three runs to put the host ahead by three once again, 8-5.  

Suffolk answered in the top of the seventh. Walks by Michael James Jr. and Timothy McCarthy put two ducks in the pond for Michael Cole, who singled to left to score James. Brandon Bukowski had a productive ground out to third that moved both Rams into scoring position in time for Gilbride's long out to left that brought in McCarthy and chipped the gap down to one, 8-7.  

George Breslin took over the hill in relief in the bottom of the seventh in hopes of a scoreless inning. The Engineers had other things in mind as they used a pair of doubles to make Suffolk face its largest deficit of the day, 11-7. 

Roberts got the distance back to three with a lead-off solo shot in the top of the eighth off WPI's fresh arm Eric DePiero. Painter followed the bomb with an extra-base hit of his own, a deep double to centerfield. The designated hitter was stranded there as the next three Rams flew out to various parts of the outfield to keep the score in the host's favor, 11-8. 

Like Roberts, Gavin George sent the ball over the fence to open the bottom of the eighth to reinstate the four-run margin. A Rams fielding mishap allowed the Engineers to keep the inning going, which led to an RBI triple for Jeffrey Brennan, which lengthened WPI's lead to 12-8.  

A single from Cole followed by a walk from Bukowski sparked a Suffolk comeback. A wild pitch advanced the runners to set up Gilbride's two-run single to left. One out, a walk and single later, Marc Birbiglia brought the go-ahead run to the plate with the bags juiced. The first baseman went down looking though to put two outs on the board when James came to the plate. The left field had a chance to put the hero cape on, but his best contact went foul, before he sat down swinging to end the game. 

PITCHERS PICTURES

• Shawn Nosky took the setback after giving up three runs, one earned, on five hits in 1.2 innings of relief. 
• Painter let up five runs on seven hits and three walks with four strikeouts in 4.1 innings. 
• Breslin allowed five runs, three earned, with one K in 1.2 frame out of the pen. 
• Jake Washock came in for one effective out for the Rams. 
• Reliever Henry Sniezek secured the win for WPI behind 1.0 inning of work, however, he allowed three runs on three hits and one walk with a pair of punchouts. 
• Andrew Gray started for the Engineers. Over 5.0 innings, he put together a two-run, four-hit, three-walk, five-strikeout performance. 
• Gavin Maloney (2 R, 1 H, 2 BB), DePiero (1 R, 2 H) and Noah Pins (2 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K) all came in for 1.0 inning for the Engineers. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Gilbride brought in 60 percent (6-10) of Suffolk's offense with six RBI on three hits including a homer and a sac fly. He scored two runs and swiped one base. 
• Painter produced three hits, including a double, with one RBI and one stolen base on his stat line. 
• Iorio logged two hits, a single and double, respectively, one RBI, one run and one walk.
• Cole went 3-for-5 with two runs and one RBI. 
• Roberts registered two walks, one hit, a jack, one RBI and one run. 
• James walked twice and scored one run. 
• McCarthy tallied one hit, one run and one walk. 
• Bukowski scored twice. 

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk renewed a rivalry with WPI, meeting the Engineers for the first time since 2009. 
• The Rams and Engineers competed for the first time in the Anthony Del Prete era.
• The 10 runs scored against WPI are the most for Suffolk since it took down the Engineers, 19-2, in 1999 in Cape Coral, Florida. 
• Gilbride hit his first homer of the season, sixth of his Suffolk career. 
• Roberts logged his first home run of the year, eighth in a Suffolk jersey. 
• The Rams knocked two jacks in the same game for the second time this season, first since putting two balls out of the park in a 12-5 triumph over Rivier at the Ripken Experience March 11, 2023. 
• Gilbride brought in a career-high six runs. The six RBI are the most for a Ram since Christian Seariac plated seven runs in a 19-1, seven-inning triumph over Wentworth May 7, 2022. 
• Gilbride tied a personal-best three hits. 
• Cole had multiple hits for the first time in his Suffolk career. He finished with a career-high three and matched a personal-best two runs scored. 
• Painter has hit successfully in every game for Suffolk this season and recorded his sixth, third in a row, multi-hit game. 
• Iorio has had a career-high two hits in the last three games. The outfielder has knocked doubles in back-to-back outings. 

POST-GAME PIC
  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk is set to welcome UMass Boston to East Boston Memorial Park Thursday, March 23. The Rams home opener is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m.