Springfield, Mass. – March 25, 2011 – The Springfield College baseball team could not take advantage of eight errors by the visiting WPI Engineers as it dropped a 7-5 decision in New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on a chilly Friday afternoon at Berry-Allen Field.

The Pride drop to 6-6, 0-2 in conference action, while the Engineers snapped their seven-game slide to improve to 5-10, 1-3 in league play.

Leading Springfield at the plate was Sean Smith, who went 2-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Mark Grant was charged with the loss as he lasted 5.1 innings, allowing five runs, three earned, off five hits while striking out four and walking three. Darryl Smith pitched the final 3.2 innings, allowing two earned runs off two hits.

Daniel Thomas and Nick Bean registered a pair of hits for the Engineers, while Smith drove in three runs and Thomas crossed the plate twice. Starter Sean Minor was victorious as he hurled seven innings of five-hit ball, allowing four runs, one of which was earned. Shane Sampson came in to pick up the save as he pitched the final inning, giving up just one hit.

WPI scored first in the second inning as Thomas led off the frame with a walk before coming home to score on a Bean single.

Springfield answered back with two runs in the bottom half for their only lead of the ballgame. Kyle DiFranco scored on a Smith fielder’s choice and Smith would later crossed the plate on an Engineer error.

The Engineers broke open the game in the sixth with four runs off just two hits. The key hit came when Bean roped a double, scoring a pair, and ultimately chasing Grant from the game.

The teams would trade a pair of runs in the seventh. Thomas belted an RBI double and Bryan Watkins followed with an RBI single for the visitors, while Springfield scored a pair of unearned runs by Smith and John Schmaltz.

Springfield tacked on the final run of the ball game in the eighth as Smith’s single scored Mike Micik, who had originally reached on a WPI error.

Springfield and WPI will complete its three-game series with two games to be played at Wachusett Regional High School beginning at 12:00 pm.