Auburndale, FL --- Starting pitchers Eric Johnson (Rutland, MA) and Brian Schopka (Tinton Falls, NJ) produced a pair of gems on the mound and catcher Kyle Bartosik (Midland Park, NJ) racked up five RBI in the night cap as the WPI baseball team swept its two games against SUNY IT on Monday. The Engineers (3-1), who took game one 5-0 and the nightcap 10-0, have now won three straight while the Wildcats drop to 0-4. 

The first game was a 5-0 victory behind Johnson's complete-game shutout, a performance that saw him give up only four hits with nine strikeouts and no walks. The Crimson and Gray scored all five of their runs in the bottom of the sixth when John Flynn (Albion, ME) hit an RBI single through the right side to get WPI on the board. Three batters later, Tim Erlandson (Hudson, MA) came to the plate with the bases loaded, promptly driving in another two runs off a single to center field. On the very next at-bat, David Trujillo (Sutton, MA) would hit a 2-RBI triple to left-center, and that would be all the offense the Engineers would need.      

In game two, Schopka struck out six while allowing only six hits and no runs. The WPI bats would strike early and often with four runs in the second and four more in the third on the way to a 10-0 triumph. Bartosik had a career day going 2-for-3 with five RBI and three runs scored. Three of those RBI came on a triple in the third inning that put the Engineers up 7-0 after a two-run double the inning before. Matt Blakeman (Bedford, NH) added another two runs batted in.

In its four games down south, the WPI pitching staff has allowed just a single earned run in 28 innings of work.  

The Engineers will play the College of New Jersey on Tuesday.    

Story by Mike Rupp