Dudley, MA --- The WPI baseball team dropped a 7-3 road contest to host Nichols on Thursday afternoon at NC Baseball Field. The Engineers move to 9-5 on the season, while the Bison even their record at 6-6.
 
Nichols used a four-run third inning to build a lead it would not relinquish. WPI answered with a three-run fourth but was held off the scoreboard the rest of the way.
 
Chuck Cappello (Southboro, MA) led WPI with three hits and a run scored, Jacob Wiberg (Exeter, NH) drove in a run with a single, Greyson Baldizar (Seekonk, MA) added an RBI walk, and Shane McLaughlin (Brewster, NY) contributed a sacrifice fly.
 
On the mound, Joseph Conti (Lincoln, RI) took the loss, allowing one run over two innings. Alex Hee (Walpole, MA), Kaiden Williams (North Aurora, IL), and Brian Riley (Portland, ME) combined for three scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
 
Nichols was led offensively by Bryce Morrisette (Griswold, CT), who tallied two hits and drove in three runs. Collin Harty (Whitinsville, MA) added a two-run double and scored twice, while Jack Raymond (Enfield, CT) collected two hits, including an RBI triple. Andrew Rocca (Wolcott, CT) chipped in an RBI single as part of the Bison's eight-hit effort.
 
Ashton Hammond (Lewiston, ME) earned the win, allowing three runs (one earned) over 3.1 innings. Tony Abed (North Providence, RI) and Clark Churchill (Windsor, CT) combined for three scoreless innings of relief before Nicholas Willand (Acton, MA) closed the door with 2.2 scoreless innings, striking out four to record the save.
 
Nichols struck first in the second inning on an RBI single from Morrisette. The Bison then broke the game open in the third, scoring four runs on a two-run double by Harty, an RBI single from Rocca, and an RBI triple from Raymond to take a 5-0 advantage.
 
WPI responded in the fourth inning, loading the bases before Wiberg delivered an RBI single to put the Engineers on the board. Baldizar followed with a bases-loaded walk, and McLaughlin added a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 5-3.
 
The Engineers threatened but could not capitalize further, leaving nine runners on base in the contest. Nichols added two insurance runs in the eighth on a two-run single by Morrisette, aided by an error, to extend the lead to 7-3.
 
WPI returns to action on Saturday when it opens NEWMAC play with a doubleheader against MIT at Clark's Granger Field. Nichols travels to Roger Williams for a doubleheader on Saturday at noon.