WORCESTER, Mass. --- WPI completed a 3-0 homestand on Friday afternoon, defeating visiting Nichols 11-6 in non-conference baseball action. Paul Galligan and Cody McGregor each had three hits for the Engineers in support of starter Bryan Watkins, who picked up his third win of the season. With the victory, WPI improved its record to 11-6, won its fourth in a row and eighth in the last nine outings. The loss dropped Nichols to 5-6 on the year.

For the fourth consecutive game, the Engineers scored first to take an early lead. Mark Dignum sent the second pitch of the game into left-center for a leadoff double, followed by an RBI single from Nick Bean that gave WPI a 1-0 advantage. Nichols was able to tie the score in the next half inning, producing a run via a leadoff single from Austin Martin (Cranston, R.I.) and a run-producing double from Matt Whitman (North Plainfield, N.J.) to knot the score at 1-1. Al Montalto (Wilmington, Mass.) added an RBI single in the third for the Bison, giving them a 2-1 lead.

The Crimson and Gray plated three runs in their half of the third to retake the lead, as the first four batters of the inning reached base. Dignum led off with a single, Bean walked and Galligan singled before Scott McNee worked a bases-loaded walk to tie the score at 2 apiece. Bean later scored on a double-play ball and Galligan would come around on a Mike Swanton RBI base-hit, giving WPI a 4-2 edge.

Watkins (3-0) cruised through the fourth and fifth innings before running into a bit of trouble in the sixth. After the first two Bison batters reached base, Whitman produced an RBI groundout followed by a run-scoring single from Dan Smith (Verona, N.J.) to tie the game at 4.

The Engineers picked Watkins up in their half of the sixth, erupting for five runs on four hits. Swanton started the inning with a walk and McGregor followed with a double, setting the stage for Joe Walsh who came through with a single to score them both. Dignum then walked, and Bean singled to left to drive home Walsh with the seventh WPI run. Bean and Dignum then engineered a double-steal, with Dignum coming around on a throwing error on the play to make the score 8-4 WPI. With Bean standing on third, Galligan produced a one-out single to right, scoring Bean and giving Watkins a 9-4 lead with which to work.

Swanton once again reached as the leadoff batter in the seventh, doubling over the centerfielder's head, and coming around to score on McGregor's third base-hit of the afternoon. McGregor then stole second and scored on a Jameson Kokolis RBI double, giving WPI an 11-4 lead.

Watkins was pulled after the seventh, posting an efficient line of seven innings pitched, allowing only two earned runs and scattering eight hits while striking out two.

Nichols added two in the eighth, as Montalto led off the inning with a single before Martin sent a shot deep into the left-centerfield gap for a ground-rule double. A failed pickoff attempt allowed Montalto to score and Martin to move to third with one out. Matt Ziemian (Palmer, Mass.) then sent Martin plateward with a RBI groundout, completing the scoring on the day at 11-6.

Dignum led the Engineers with three runs on the day, while McGregor added two runs to his 3-for-3 afternoon at the dish. McGregor's three hits leave him three shy of 100 for his WPI career. Swanton and Bean were each 2-for-4 with two runs scored, with the latter also driving in two runs.

Martin led Nichols at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored on the afternoon. Montalto, Whitman and Zachary Johnson (Wakefield, R.I.) each had two hits, while Whitman led the Bison with two RBIs in the game.

Jim Fritz (Souderton, Pa.) took the loss for Nichols in relief of starter Christopher Nemeskal (Swampscott, Mass.). Fritz fell to 1-1 on the year.

Nichols continues its road swing on Saturday, traveling to face Eastern Nazarene at 12:30pm for a TCCC twinbill.