THE BASICS:
 
- Records: MIT (5-9-1); University of Southern Maine (4-11)
 
- Scores: MIT 9, University of Southern Maine 8 (11 Innings)
 
- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Fran O'Brien Field)
 
- The Lead: Senior Nick Aiello (Freehold, N.J.) singled to right in the bottom of the 11th inning to score sophomore Michael Finch (Brentwood, Tenn.) from second to lift MIT to a thrilling 9-8 walk-off victory over the University of Southern Maine on Friday afternoon. The win is MIT's third straight and the first over the Huskies since the 2010 season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
- After a scoreless first inning, the Engineers put up four runs in the second for the 4-0 advantage. Senior Cory O'Shea (Glen Allen, Va.) singled through the left side to bring in Aiello for the first run, followed later in the inning by a three-homer to dead center from sophomore Teddy Schoenfeld (Boulder, Colo.) that extended the lead to 4-0.
 
- The back-and-forth game continued as the Huskies scored five runs in the top of the fourth to take a 5-4 edge. Jonathan Wilson got things started with a solo homer to left, followed by RBI hits from four different Huskies. Jason Komula had the go-ahead hit as his single to center scored Tom Vesosky.
 
- With two outs in the sixth, sophomore Jake Sonandres (Torrance, Calif.) launched a three-run homer over the left field fence that put MIT back up by a 7-5 margin.
 
- The game remained at 7-5 until the top of the eighth when the Huskies struck for a pair of home runs off of MIT reliever Casey Bussone (Danvers, Mass.). After two quick outs, an MIT error opened the door for Southern Maine as Cam Seymour connected on a two-run homer to tie the game and Komula followed with a solo shot to go up 8-7 on the three unearned runs.
 
- Jake Sonandres knotted the game at 8-8 in the bottom of the eighth with his second homer of the game to left field and Bussone allowed just one runner to reach second base over the next three innings to set the stage for the late heroics.
 
- In the bottom of the 11th, Ethan Brown came on in relief for the Huskies and the Engineers quickly had runners on first and second with one out. Seymour, who started the game at catcher, returned to the mound for a second time to face Aiello in what would turn out to be the final batter. Aiello singled to right as the ball fell in front of the right fielder as Finch was sent home and beat the close throw for the team's third-straight comeback win.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 
- Jake Sonandres finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored, four RBI and two home runs, along with a 3-for-5 showing from Aiello. Schoenfeld found the plate twice and drove in three runs as well.
 
- For the Huskies, Wilson and Zach Mooers each had three hits to go along with two hits each from three others.
 
- First-year Ajinkya Gundaria (Alpharetta, Ga.) started for the Engineers and went 3.1 innings before he gave way to five MIT relievers. Those relievers allowed just two earned runs, including scoreless innings from first-year Ethan Siegel (Austin, Texas) and junior Ben Burke (Chelmsford, Mass.). Bussone earned the win to move to 1-2 on the season as he scattered five hits over 4.2 innings with three unearned runs, four strikeouts and no walks.
 
- For USM, the loss was charged to Brown as he fell to 0-1 overall. Clay Robbins was the starter as he threw 5.2 innings with eight hits, seven runs (three earned), three walks and three strikeouts.
 
UP NEXT:
 
- MIT is back in action on Saturday, April 2nd as the Engineers open NEWMAC play with a doubleheader vs. Coast Guard beginning at Noon. Prior to the start of the game, MIT president Rafael Reif will throw out the first pitch.
 
STAY CONNECTED:
 
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