NEWPORT, R.I. (April 21, 2026) -- No. 3-ranked Salve Regina University baseball scored eight runs in the bottom of the second to cruise to a 12-4 victory over visiting Massachusetts Institute of Technology in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action at Reynolds Field in Newport, Rhode Island, on Tuesday afternoon. The Seahawks (27-3, 9-2) break a tie for first place with the Engineers (11-15, 8-3) in their first meeting since last year's conference championship game on May 11, won by Salve Regina on a walk-off, extra-inning base hit by Tyler Petrosino (Beverly, Mass.) after Shane Williams (Georgetown, Mass.) led off the 10th inning with a triple. This season, Williams leads the league in runs scored (51), runs batted in (52), and home runs (11).

Today, sophomore left-hander Brady Shea (Worcester, Mass) improved to 2-1 on the year with career-highs in innings pitched (6.0) and strikeouts (9) while allowing zero walks and just three earned runs. Five of his first six outs were swinging strike threes. Junior catcher John Dwyer (Northport, N.Y.) got the first base hit against Shea with one out in the second. After Shea hit first baseman James Dempsey (Grand Rapids, Mich.) with a pitch, he whiffed his fourth Engineer while Dempsey and Dwyer advanced on a stolen base. A wild pitch brought Dwyer home and Dempsey followed him after a throwing error.

Behind 2-0, Salve Regina wasted no time in tying and then taking the lead. Sophomore designated hitter Dylan Cimini (Stonington, Conn.) wore his first of three hit-by-pitches leading off the Seahawk second. Senior first baseman Elliot Hamilton (Glastonbury, Conn.) doubled him home and then scored on a wild pitch for a 2-2 score. 

The Seahawks loaded the bases with one out and Williams added to his league-leading total with an RBI fielder's choice grounder. When Cimini was hit by a pitch for the second time in the second inning, Williams added to his league-leading runs scored total. Hamilton drilled a two-run single through the left side and the Engineers committed their second miscue of the frame for an 8-2 Seahawk advantage.

Freshman shortstop Dalton Chi (Cerritos, Calif.) smacked his fourth home run of the season for the Engineers in the top of the third with one out and the bases empty.

Salve Regina's lead grew to 10-3 with runs driven in by Hamilton and James Anastasopoulos (Sherborn, Mass.) in the fourth. With two outs in the top of the sixth, Dempsey singled down the left field line to score John Spivey (Saint Louis, Mo.).

Seahawk reliever Joe DeRienzo (Trumbull, Conn.), a senior who recorded his first collegiate save in a Salve Regina sweep over Springfield last Saturday, came on in the seventh and struck out all FOUR batters he faced. Eitan Moore (Jerusalem, Israel) reached after his swing and a miss with the ball bouncing over the backstop. DeRienzo struck out his fifth-straight Engineer leading off the eighth before covering first base on a grounder to Hamilton. Second base sub Nate Ruehs (Plymouth, Mass.) made a diving grab off the bat of Dwyer for the final out of the eighth.

After Grady Schopps (Fairfield, Conn.) bumped the score to 12-4 with a two-run single to right field in the bottom of the eighth, Seahawk All-American (2024) Sean Mulligan (Verona, N.J.) got three strikeouts in the ninth to clinch the win.

Hamilton finished with four RBI. Williams went 3-for-5 at the plate while Danny Rogers (New Canaan, Conn.), Cimini, Hamilton, and Schopps each finished with two knocks. Shea (9), DeRienzo (5), and Mulligan (3) combined for a season-high 17 Ks for the Seahawk pitching staff.

The Seahawks are now 5-5 all-time against the Engineers. Salve Regina travels to RV/#24 Southern Maine for a 4 p.m. Thursday game on FloCollege. MIT has a road game with #18/#24 Endicott College and a 3:30 p.m. first pitch.