NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. (March 17, 2026) – Wentworth Institute of Technology grabbed an 11-run lead and then held off a furious comeback effort by Emerson College over the final three innings which saw the tying run reach base before securing a 12-9 victory in a non-conference baseball matchup at New England Baseball Complex this afternoon.
Senior Matthew Favazzo paced the Wentworth lineup by hitting 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles, a home run, three RBI and three runs scored, while classmate Matt Robinson also hit 4-for-5 for the Leopards with three doubles, three runs scored and a stolen base. Sophomore Josh Turcotte chipped in with a pair of hits, including a homer, and two RBI.
Senior righthander Alex Peruzzi earned the win (3-0) on the mound for Wentworth with six innings of one hit shutout work, striking out five and walking three. Junior Bennett Leary picked up his fourth save of the season by ending the game with a soft liner to second after walking the first batter he faced with the bases loaded.
Junior Braeden O'Connell batted 3-for-5 for Emerson with a double, run scored and three RBI, while sophomore Aidan Callahan produced his first career home run and drove in three. Sophomore John Churchward hit 2-for-5 with a double, run scored and two RBI.
Callahan belted his first collegiate home run and finished with three RBI to help spark the Lions comeback. |
Sophomore right-hander Henry Kagan took the loss (0-2) for Emerson, yielding four runs, three earned, on three hits and six walks with a strikeout in 3.0 innings. First year Luc Maass turned in two solid innings of relief to allow the late comeback, working around three hits and two walks to yield just an earned run.
Wentworth supported the sterling start from Peruzzi with 11 runs, including a four-run fifth that doubled the Leopards lead after striking for a pair of runs in each of the first two frames. Turcotte followed a one-out double to left center by Robinson with a two-run homer to chase Emerson first year reliever Reid Thaler. Favazzo greeted first year lefthander Ian Sullivan with a solo homer on his first offering as the Leopards smacked back-to-back homers.
Emerson was provided with new life when Peruzzi was lifted after his six shutout innings and then sophomore Liam Curley reached on a dropped fly as Callahan followed with a two-run blast to left for his first collegiate home run. After back-to-back two one out walks, O'Connell delivered a two-run double to left and the Lions capped the five-run seventh with a two-run single to center by Churchward.
Wentworth took two of those runs back in the eighth with a pair of doubles by Robinson and Favazza, who later scored on a wild pitch. O'Connell added an RBI single in the home half of the eighth for Emerson and then the Lions put the tying run on base in the ninth after Churchward led off with a double and later scored on a ground out by Callahan that had the bases empty with two out and the Leopards still in front by five. The Lions followed a two-out single up the middle from first year Vincent Fuller that put two runners on with three-straight walks, including bases loaded passes by O'Connell and first year pinch hitter Liam Wagner before Leary got a soft liner to second to end the game.
Up Next
Emerson (2-7, 0-0 NEWMAC) returns to action on Friday when it hosts Thomas College at NEBC at 3 p.m. Wentworth (7-6, 0-0 CNE) visits Brandeis University tomorrow at 3 p.m.
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