Newport, RI --- The WPI baseball team opened NEWMAC play with a 6-0 setback to Salve Regina on Thursday afternoon on the road. The win lifts the third-ranked Seahawks 11-1 (1-0 NEWMAC), while the Engineers slip to 9-5 (0-1 NEWMAC).
Liam Keblin (Newton, MA) paced WPI with three of the team's six hits, while
Chuck Cappello (Southboro, MA) added a pair of hits.
Zachary Roethlein (Pomfret Center, CT) accounted for the remaining Engineers' hit.
Jacob Wiberg (Exeter, NH) took the loss, striking out seven over five innings while allowing six runs, four earned, on eight hits.
Robert Runge (Manasquan, NJ),
Ethan Smith (Hanson, MA), and
Sean Murphy (East Taunton, MA) combined for three innings of scoreless relief out of the bullpen.
Salve Regina was led offensively by
Evan O'Rourke (Arlington, MA), who went 2-for-2 with a home run and two runs scored.
Jake Harring (Portsmouth, NH) added two hits, including a triple, with an RBI, while
Shane Williams (Georgetown, MA) recorded two hits, including a home run, with two runs scored and an RBI.
Nolan Romanowski (Wynantskill, NY) earned the win, tossing three scoreless innings while allowing one hit and striking out two.
The Seahawks struck for runs in each of the first three innings. An unearned run crossed in the first before a two-run second highlighted by O'Rourke's home run and Harring's RBI triple.
Salve Regina added two more in the third, including a solo home run from Williams and an unearned run following a fielding error. The hosts then pushed the lead to 6-0 in the fifth on a bases-loaded walk.
WPI threatened in the sixth, loading the bases on a Roethlein single, a Cappello fielder's choice, and a two-out walk from
Joe DiMichele (East Longmeadow, MA). However, a strikeout ended the frame. The Engineers added a lead-off walk in the top of the ninth, but again couldn't push a run across.
Both teams return to action Thursday at 3:30 p.m. WPI travels to Nichols for a NEWMAC matchup, while Salve Regina heads to Eastern Connecticut State for a non-conference contest.
