CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Senior Reed Tubbs (Pflugerville, Texas) and first year John Spivey (Saint Louis, Mo.) each homered in the second inning and senior Malachi Soqui (Castaic, Calif.) hit a three-run home run as part of a ten-run third inning, as the MIT baseball team earned a decisive 17-0 non-conference victory over New England College in the team's home opener on Wednesday afternoon at Fran O'Brien Field.

THE BASICS:

• Score: MIT 17, New England College 0
• Records: MIT (3-8 overall), New England College (3-10 Overall)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• MIT took the lead quickly in the bottom of the first inning, as five straight batters reached base to begin the game for the Engineers. MIT scored when junior Zev Moore (Jerusalem, Israel) singled down the left field line to drive home grad student CJ McCarthy (Pawling, N.Y.). McCarthy reached earlier in the inning on a single to centerfield.
• New England College escaped the threat in the bottom of the first but could not counter in the top of the second, as MIT starter Brian Rapanan (Gurnee, Ill.) set the Pilgrims down in order.
• Rapanan was outstanding for MIT, as the senior pitched six innings while surrendering just one hit and striking out four to earn his first victory of the season.
• MIT opened the game up in the bottom of the second, as both Tubbs and Spivey homered as part of a five run inning. MIT added three doubles in the inning, as junior Owen Malone (Portsmouth, R.I.), McCarthy and Zev Moore all tallied extra base hits. Moore's double brought McCarthy around to increase the MIT lead to 6-0.
• The Engineers put the game out of reach with ten runs in the bottom of the third inning, mashing ten hits while taking advantage of four New England College errors to take a 16-0 lead. Grad student Teddy Schoenfeld (Boulder, Colo.) had a pair of RBI singles in the inning, while Soqui's three-run home made the score 14-0 at the time.
• MIT moved ahead 17-0 in the sixth. Following another 1-2-3 inning from Rapanan, MIT added a run in the bottom of the inning. Zev Moore doubled with one out before pinch runner Jack Finnegan (Essex, Conn.) scored on a single to right field from rookie Brock Billingsley (Springdale, Ark.). 
• Relievers Chase Rubin (Arlington, Va.) and Ajinkya Gundaria (Alpharetta, Ga.) took care of the rest, holding the Pilgrims without a hit over the final three innings while combining for three strikeouts.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• The Engineers' 17 runs scored are the most runs MIT has put on the board since the team defeat Coast Guard, 17-5 during the 2023 season.
• MIT only faced one batter over the minimum in the contest, as Rapanan got a double play ball in the second to erase NEC's only hit and another in the fourth after a runner reached via an error. 
• Rapanan is now 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA over 14.0 innings pitched in 2024, his six inning outing matched a career high. He is holding opponents to a .170 batting average. 
• Spivey finished the day 3-for-6 with a pair of runs scored. Zev Moore and Malone also had three hits to lead MIT. 
• Spivey, Zev Moore, Schoenfeld and Soqui each had three RBIs in the contest. 
• Soqui now has 10 RBIs this season, second on the team to Zev Moore's 12.
• Nine different MIT players had a hit in the contest. Billingsley's RBI single in the sixth was the first hit of his collegiate career. 

UP NEXT:

• MIT will welcome Bates to Fran O'Brien Field on Friday, March 21, at 3:30 PM.

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