AMHERST, Mass. -- Jack Dove and Christian Fagnant crushed back-to-back home runs in a four-run bottom of the eighth inning Tuesday to help the Amherst College baseball team pull away from visiting WPI in its home openers at Memorial Field and post an 8-4 victory. 

The Mammoths improved to 6-1-1 on the season with the victory while WPI slipped to 9-6 overall. Amherst is back in action Wednesday for a rescheduled 3:30 p.m. away game at Western New England University. 

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* Nursing a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the 8th Tuesday, the Mammoths came up with four big runs to provide some breathing room. Luke Padian got things started when he beat out an infield roller to second. Jackson Reydel followed by lining a drive down the left-field line for a double that moved Padian to third.

* Dove was up next and fell behind 0-2 but caught a hanging curveball on the third pitch and drove the ball deep to left-center field that cleared the fence for a three-run blast and a 7-3 lead. Fagnant followed with a moon shot toward right that kept carrying until it fell beyond the fence for a solo home run and an 8-3 lead. 

* In the top of the eighth WPI, trailing 4-2, rallied as Jacob Hand, who had homered on the first pitch of the game, lined an opposite-field single to left to drive in a run. With two outs and the tying and go-ahead runs on, WPI's Jeffrey Brennan lined a shot into left-center field that Dove raced over and with a fully-extended dive, robbed Brennan of a hit to keep Amherst in the lead. 

* WPI had one more chance in the top of the 9th against Mammoth hurler Jack Sampedro, scoring one run and putting runners on first and second with no outs. But Sampedro struck out the next two batters and then fielded a comebacker he flipped to Padian at first for the game's final out. 

BY THE NUMBERS:

* Amherst first-year Naaveen Narayanan earned his first collegiate win, tossing five-plus innings and giving up 6 hits and 4 walks while striking out 8. Christian Pedro went 2 2/3 innings before being relieved by Sampedro in the top of the 8th. He allowed one run. 

* The Mammoths banged out 13 hits in the win. Sampedro was 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored. Dove was 2 for 4 with 3 RBI and a run scored. Fagnant was 1 for 4 with a run scored and 2 RBI. Reydel was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored. Padian was 2 for 3 with an RBI.