CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A day after no-hitting Wentworth, pitching was the story again Thursday, as UMass Boston (17-14-1) struggled to put anything together against MIT (20-14) in a 3-1 loss at Briggs Field. The Beacons managed just five hits against K.J. Parent and Aric Dame, as the duo combined to strike out seven Beacons batters and allow just one unearned run.

Sophomore Jamill Moquette (Boston, Mass.) led the Beacons offense with the Beacons only extra-base hits, two doubles, to extend his hitting streak to 18 games. First baseman Matt Consiglio (Southbury, Conn.) added a ninth-inning single to keep his hitting streak alive at 14 games.

Senior left fielder Mike Mattei (Spencer, Mass.) added a single and a run, while right fielder Charles LaPaglia (Marshfield, Mass.) reached base twice with a single and the team's lone walk of the day.

Lucas Ilges (Gloucester, Mass.) was the hard luck loser for the Beacons, allowing three unearned runs over six innings. Relievers Tyler Kane (Wilbraham, Mass.) and Jeff Thomas (Redwood City, CA) each pitched a scoreless inning of relief for the Beacons.

MIT raced out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first with both runs scoring with two outs. Ilges retired the first two batters on groundouts to Moquette but gave up a single to MIT's leading hitter Creed Mangrum to start the rally. The next batter hit a chopper to third that Collin Keefer (Charlotte, N.C.) couldn't handle and it would prove costly. With runners on first and second and two outs, MIT followed with consecutive singles to score both runners and grab the 2-0 lead after one.

The Beacons stole a run back in the top of the third inning. Mattei hit a flare down the right field line that the second baseman bobbled, allowing Mattei to reach first. Bryan Failla (Torrington, Conn.) followed with a sacrifice bunt and with two outs, LaPaglia knocked a hard grounder to first that the first baseman let go by to score Mattei from second.

Both teams settled in over the next few innings, with neither team scoring until the bottom of the sixth. Ilges once again retired the first two batter but Sean Karson singled and stole second base and Consiglio couldn't handle a grounder putting runners on first and third with two down. The Engineers executed a double steal with Mangrum swiping second and Karson easily beating the tag at home.

UMass Boston put two runners on in the top of the seventh with a LaPaglia walk and a Mattei bunt single, but the Beacons struggled to hit with runners in scoring position. Failla grounded out to second base to end the seventh and the Beacons would put just one runner on base the rest of the way.

On the day, UMass Boston hit into two double plays and failed to record a hit with a runner in scoring position.

Saturday the Beacons will return to the diamond for a road Little East Conference doubleheader at Plymouth State University. First pitch of the first game is set for Noon.