Baseball To Host WPI

BASEBALL TO HOST WPI

The Matchup: WPI Engineers (17-16) at Elms College Blazers (8-19-1) 
Date: Tuesday, May 1
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Site: MacKenzie Stadium (Holyoke, MA)
Click here for directions to MacKenzie Stadium
All-Time Series: WPI leads the series 1-0.
Last Meeting: WPI defeated Elms College 7-4 on May 3, 2005 at Worcester, Massachusetts.

Setting The Scene: Elms College is coming off a four-game, weekend split of North Atlantic Conference (NAC) doubleheaders at Thomas College and the University of Maine-Farmington. The Blazers posted a convincing sweep at Thomas with 7-1 and 7-5 victories on Saturday, but was swept at Maine-Farmington 4-3 and 2-1 on Sunday. Against Thomas, freshman pitcher Sean Bergeron (Chicopee, MA) fired a complete-game, three-hit shutout in game one and went a combined 3 for 8 with three RBI. In game two, freshman pitcher Mike Bieber (Calverton, NY) allowed four earned runs in 5.1 innings en route to his second collegiate win and junior relief pitcher Jay Wheeler (Chicopee, MA) induced a flyout and double play in the bottom of the seventh to earn the save. Sophomore infielder Joe Prattico (Holyoke, MA) and freshman third baseman Brian Marrero (Kendall Park, NJ) each added RBI singles to highlight the Blazers' five-run, third inning.
 
Scouting The Opposition: WPI, a member of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC), saw its four-game winning streak snapped when it was upset at home by Coast Guard 3-1 in last Thursday's first round of the NEWMAC Tournament. The Engineers had been seeded second in the eight-team tournament after finishing 8-4 in-conference during the regular season. Junior first baseman Ryan Rainone (Oakville, CT) leads WPI with a .384 batting average and 22 RBI in 31 starts.

On A Tear: Freshman second baseman Justin Jacobs (Springhill, FL) has batted .556
(10 for 18) including a triple, two doubles, six runs scored and a pair of stolen bases over the last five games.

On The Hill: Bergeron was named NAC Pitcher of the Week for the second straight week on Monday afternoon. In his last three appearances (16.0 innings), Bergeron has gone 3-0 with a 0.56 earned run average, struck out 11 and issued just seven walks.

Keeping Track of Blazers' Athletics: For the latest news, notes and statistics on all 15
intercollegiate teams at Elms College, visit our new athletics website at http://athletics.elms.edu/landing/index or call the Sports Information Hotline at 413-265-2414.