Boston, MA --- The WPI baseball team rallied back from a 5-0 deficit but opened the 2025 season with a 14-8 loss on the road at UMass Boston on Saturday. The Engineers start the campaign 0-1, while the Beacons improve to 3-0 on the short season.
 
Jack Zawacki (Pittsford, NY) led WPI with three hits, including an RBI double. Zachary Roethlein (Pomfret Center, CT) drove in a team-high three runs with a bases-clearing double in the fourth. Spencer Merrick (Abington, MA) added a two-run double, while Gavin George (Salem, NH) and Jonathan Lattimer (Windsor, CT) each contributed an RBI.
 
On the mound, Dominic Monico (Litchfield, NH) allowed five runs over four innings. Brian Riley (Portland, ME) took the loss, surrendering seven runs (three earned) in two innings. Alex Hee (Walpole, MA) pitched the final two frames, allowing two unearned runs.
 
For UMass Boston, Nick Farnacci (Farmingdale, NY) had two hits, including an RBI double, and scored twice. Richard Williams (Georgetown, MA) hit a two-run homer in the fifth. Mariano Jimenez (Waltham, MA) and Jacob Levine (Easton, MA) each drove in two runs, while Bostyn Burris (Highland Village, TX) reached base three times and stole a base.
 
Keenan Metrick (Malvern, PA) got the start, giving up four runs over three innings. Hunter Ward (Nashua, NH) and Jonny Pagano (Attleboro, MA) combined for five scoreless innings, as Pagano got the win in relief.
 
UMass Boston took an early lead, capitalizing on an error and timely hitting in the first inning. The Beacons plated four, as Mike Meagher (Marston's Mills, MA) delivered a two-run single, and Elliot Miles (Portsmouth, NH) added an RBI. In the second, Brandon Gaer (Rocky Hill, CT) drove in a run on a fielder's choice, putting WPI in an early 5-0 hole.
 
WPI responded in the third, starting with Zawacki doubling home Jacob Wiberg (Exeter, NH). George followed with an RBI single, bringing home Lattimer to cut the deficit to 5-2. Merrick then delivered a two-run double, scoring Roethlein and George, bringing WPI within one at 5-4.
 
WPI kept the momentum in the fourth, loading the bases on a walk, a single by Zawacki, and a hit-by-pitch. Lattimer was also hit by a pitch, forcing in Wiberg to tie the game at 5-5. Moments later, Roethlein came through with a bases-clearing double, scoring George, Lattimer, and Tommy Burns (Morris Plains, NJ) to give WPI its first lead at 8-5.
 
WPI's lead was short-lived as UMass Boston struck back. Farnacci doubled in a run, followed by Williams launching a two-run homer. Levine capped off the inning with a two-run single, plating Justin Gouveia (Dartmouth, MA) and Burris to put UMass Boston ahead 12-8.
 
In the eighth inning, UMass Boston extended its lead. Jimenez singled in an unearned run, scoring Farnacci. Breon Parker (Springfield, MA) then reached on an error, allowing Meagher to score and pushing the lead to 14-8.
 
WPI loaded the bases with one out in the top of the ninth via an error, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch. However, a pop-out and a groundout ended the threat and the game.
 
The Engineers head south to the Myrtle Beach Spring Break Tournament, opening with a doubleheader against Penn College on March 9 at 9 am. UMass Boston will next host MIT on March 4 at 3pm.