CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – After receiving a first-round bye in the ECAC New England Division III Baseball Championship Tournament, top-seeded MIT defeated No. 4 Massachusetts Maritime Academy, 7-1, at O'Brien Field on Saturday afternoon. The Engineers (22-14) will host No. 2 WPI in the championship game at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday. The Buccaneers, meanwhile, closed their season with a record of 24-16.

For the second straight game MIT jumped out to an early lead as it went up, 3-0, in the first inning. After a single by sophomore Garrett Greenwood (Edmond, Okla.) and a double by classmate Austin Filiere (Chandler, Ariz.), senior Alec Echevarria (Chula Vista, Calif.) singled through the right side to clear the bases. Senior Nate Rodman's (Corvallis, Ore.) single through the left side moved Echevarria to third, who then scored on a wild pitch.

Massachusetts Maritime broke up the shutout bid in the top of the third. Following infield hits by senior Everett Walsh (Marston Mills, Mass.) and sophomore Logan Sullo (Acushnet, Mass.), a wild pitch put both runners in scoring position. A sacrifice fly by junior Jake Petruzzelli (Abington, Mass.) allowed Walsh to cross the plate, trimming the deficit to 3-1.

The Cardinal and Gray tacked on a run in the bottom of the fourth to gain some breathing room. Greenwood started things by reaching on a dropped fly ball while Filiere's single to left center put runners on second and third. Greenwood then crossed the plate courtesy of Rodman's sac fly to center field.

MIT put the game out of reach the following frame by tallying three runs. With the bases loaded, Greenwood hit a one-out sacrifice fly to center field that brought sophomore David Heller (Fairlawn, N.J.) home. Filiere immediately followed with a bases clearing double to centerfield to cap the scoring.

Junior David Hesslink (San Diego, Calif.) earned the complete game win, going the distance for the second time in his career while totaling seven strikeouts, seven hits, and two walks. Filiere finished the day 4-for-5, including two doubles, two RBI, and one run as Greenwood bolstered the offense with a 2-for-4 outing, two runs, and one RBI.

Junior Daniel Avery (Milford, Mass.) was charged with loss as he surrendered nine hits, three earned runs, and struck out two in four innings. Walsh was 2-for-4 at the plate and posted a run while Sullo had a 2-for-3 performance as well as a walk.