Fort Myers, FL --- WPI baseball split a doubleheader with Illinois College in spring break action.  The Engineers got back into the winning column with a 9-1 victory in game one, while Illinois topped WPI 5-4 in game two.

In the opener, WPI got on the board in the second inning when Brandon Steacy (Framingham, MA) smashed a double to left field to bring in Ethan Brown (Lunenburg, MA) and Scott McNee (Falmouth, MA).  Brown had singled to left field earlier in the inning, while McNee got on board via a walk.  The Engineers struck again in the third inning when Dan Mahoney (Troy, NY) smashed a three-run homer to left before McNee set the score at 6-0 when he stole home in a nifty double steal.

The Crimson and Gray put single runs on the board in the next three innings on RBI hits from Matt Fiore (Wakefield, MA) and Scott MacDonald (Gorham, ME) while Mark Dignum (Albany, NY) scored an unearned run on a passed ball to give WPI the 9-1 lead.

WPI's Brendan Devereaux (Holden, MA) had a great day on the mound, throwing six innings while yielding just one run on seven hits while striking out seven.  Mike Ball (Waltham, MA) pitched one scoreless frame, striking out two batters.

In game two, the Engineers put together a three-run sixth inning, but fell just short losing to Illinois College 5-4.  WPI tied the game at 1-1 in the third inning when Ryan Rainone (Oakville, CT) singled home MacDonald who had singled to begin the inning.

After IC rattled off four runs, Paul Galligan (Weymouth, MA) led of the top of the sixth with a double to left field before Joe Walsh (Weymouth, MA) knocked him in with a single to right center to cut the Illinois lead to 5-2.  After a strikeout, Fiore stepped up to the plate and poked a single to left center to bring home Walsh and put the score at 5-3.  Fiore scored when Brown nailed a triple to left center to cut the Illinois lead to just one (5-4), but Brown was stranded at third on a struck out to end the inning. 

The Engineers are 3-8 on the season while Illinois College is 1-1.  WPI closes out its Florida schedule on Sunday with a 9am game versus Carroll (WI).