Springfield, Mass. - April 18, 2015 - The Springfield College baseball program split a doubledheader with New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) West Division rival WPI on Saturday afternoon at Berry-Allen Field. 

Springfield won the opening game of the day, 2-1, before falling in the second of two, 12-11. With the split, Springfield is now 6-21 on the season and 4-12 in NEWMAC play, while the Engineers are now 19-13 on the year and 9-8 in conference. 

The Pride will resume play on Monday, April 20, when it will host Rhode Island College for a 3:30 p.m. tilt.

Springfield 2, WPI 1 -- Game One

Oliver Collette (Spencer, Mass.) tossed a gem for the Pride as he picked up his first win of the season after going eight strong, surrendering one earned run off of six hits while striking out five.  Matt Butrym (Schenectady, N.Y.) came in to pick up his second save of the year as he tossed the final inning, allowing just one hit.

Each team scratched out seven hits in the contest, with Shane O'Leary (Kings Park, N.Y.) and Anthony Faggiana (Woodbridge, Conn.) each totaling two hits for the Pride.  

O'Leary got the scoring started for the Pride in the fourth as he led off with a double down the left-field line. After advancing to third on a passed ball, a Dan Bergami (Schenectady, N.Y.) ground out allowed O'Leary to cross the plate.  

The visitors answered back with their lone run of the game in the seventh inning.  The Engineers made the most of a lead-off double by Sean Kelly (Shrewsbury, Mass.), who was later plated back DJ Ouellette (Watertown, Conn.) roped a double to right center.  With a pair of runners in scoring position, Collette settled down and inducted an inning-ending groundout to keep the game even.  

In the bottom of the eighth, Mark Joao (Wappinger Falls, N.Y.) cracked a single to center to get things started, and thanks to a Corey Wilcox (Montville, Conn.) sacrifice bunt, moved over to second.  O'Leary delivered for the Pride with a single to center, platting Joao for the go-ahead run.

WPI 12, Springfield 11 -- Game Two

Tyler Kelly (Abescon, N.J.) took the rubber for the start in the second game, as he pitched 5.0 innings, giving up five hits, five runs and also struck out a pair. Jack Weinberger (Sunapee, N.H.) came on in relief and pitched 1.1 innings, allowing five hits and two runs, while Mitchell Goldman (Uxbridge, Mass.) and Wilcox finished off the day for Springfield on the mound.

For WPI, Mike Vaitkunas (Auburn, Mass.) got the nod, as he pitched just 0.2 innings, giving up six hits and seven runs before Dan Bettigole (South Windsor, Conn.) came on and pitched 5.1 innings, allowing eight hits and four runs, while also striking out three. Drew Gelinas (Saco, Maine) finished off the game for the Engineers as he pitched 3.0 innings, only allowing a pair of hits and picking up the game's victory. 

Springfield struck first with seven runs in the bottom half of the first inning, starting when CJ Monroe (Wolcott, Conn.) pushed a single to left field, scoring O'Leary to score the first run of game. Bergami would drive home Steve Starr (Lebanon, Conn.) to make it 2-0, before Brent Poulin (Atascadero, Calif.) made it a 3-0 game when he drove home Monroe with a single up the middle. 

After Adam Zandri (Ridgefield, Conn.) drove home Bergami to push Springfield's lead to four, Poulin scored on a wild pitch, before Joao singled home Billy Peterson (Wareham, Mass.) to cap off the seven-run first inning. 

Springfield added to its lead in the bottom of the third, when O'Leary drove home Zandri with a single to left, before Starr singled up the middle, allowing Joao to score to make it 9-0, Pride.

Alex Venditti (Newton, Mass.) sparked the Engineers comeback in the top of the fourth inning, when he doubled to right center, driving home Vinny D'Ambrosio (Mahopac, N.Y.) to get WPI on the board. Later in the inning, Kelly singled to left, scoring Venditti to cut the Engineers' deficit to seven.

In the next frame, WPI cut its deficit to four, when Venditti blasted a three-run home run, scoring D'Ambrosio and Sean Greene (Hingham, Mass.).

Springfield got one back in the bottom of the sixth, when Bergami singled to left, scoring Monroe and Starr to help regain its six-run lead, before WPI erupted for seven runs over the next two innings to complete the comeback.

In the top of the seventh, Ouellette doubled to right, sending home D'Ambrosio, before Zach Blanchard (Warwick, R.I.) scored on a wild pitch to bring the Engineers back to within four. In the next frame, Ouellette drove in a pair more with a single, before John Caliri (Hanson, Mass.) singled to left, scoring two more to even the score at 11 apiece. 

With two outs, Nick Comei (Haverhill, Mass.) reached on an error, allowing Kelly to cross the plate, proving as the eventual game-winning run.