WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester State University rallied for four runs in the seventh inning to break a 2-2 tie and went on to defeat MIT, 6-3, in a non-conference baseball game at Lyons Diamond in Worcester this afternoon. Freshman Zach Michaud (Moorestown, N.J.) had a strong start for the Engineers, allowing just one earned run in his six innings on the mound.

Worcester State (16-11) picked up an early lead in the bottom of the first when sophomore Adam Berry (Auburn, Mass.) and senior David Ruggiero (Peabody, Mass.) rapped two-out singles. Senior Cody Osburn (Sacramento, Calif.) then hit a ground ball that was misplayed into an error, allowing Berry to score from second. The Lancers then added another run in the bottom of the third on three singles, with Ruggiero picking up the RBI.

Worcester State starter, sophomore Zach Zona (Auburn, Mass.), was impressive over the first six innings, allowing just three hits to the Engineers. MIT (14-8) finally got to Zona in the seventh inning when the Engineers picked up a leadoff single from senior Phil Reiser (Alpharetta, Ga.). A walk and a sacrifice later put runners on second and third for freshman Austin Filiere (Chandler, Ariz.), who brought home both runners with a single to right to tie the game at 2-2. Another walk chased Zona and brought on sophomore Tyler Barrie (Oxford, Mass.) to pitch and he retired the next two hitters to get the Lancers out of the jam.

In the bottom half of the inning, however, Worcester State rallied with the runs that carried it to the win. The Lancers loaded the bases with one out, bringing freshman Will Loucks (Las Vegas, Nev.) out of the MIT bullpen. He struck out the first hitter he faced, but then walked sophomore Mike Powers (Weymouth, Mass.) to force in a run. The Engineers then misplayed a fly ball into a three-base error, allowing all three runs to score and put Worcester State up 6-2.

MIT got one of the runs back in the eighth when junior Alec Echevarria (Chula Vista, Calif.) followed a pair of walks with a double to right center. That was all that the Engineers could get off of Barrie, who allowed just one more base runner after that, as he went on to pick up the win with 2.2 innings of one-hit relief.

Filiere was the only Engineer to record two hits, going 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI. Barry went 4-for-4 and Ruggiero had a 3-for-3 day to lead Worcester State.

MIT will open a key NEWMAC series tomorrow when it travels to Wheaton College for a 3:30 p.m. matchup with the Lyons. Worcester State will play next on Saturday when the Lancers will travel to Framingham State for a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m.