Baseball Sweeps Twinbill with Old Westbury

Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score 

COCOA, Fla. -- The Bridgewater State College baseball team improved its record to 3-1 with a sweep of Old Westbury this afternoon at the Cocoa Expo Sports Center Stadium. The Bears took the first game 8-4 and completed the sweep with a 19-8 victory in the nightcap.

In game one, Old Westbury jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning after junior designated hitter David Collado (Copiague, NY) hit a two-run double to left field.

The Bears took the 3-2 lead in the bottom half of the first when senior designated hitter Dana Hansen (Hanover, MA) drove in two runs and left fielder Steve Smith (East Taunton, MA) scored on a wild pitch.

The Panthers tied the scored 3-3 in the second on an RBI triple by junior outfielder Ben Farmer (Three Mile Bay, NY).

The lead would be short-lived as BSC sophomore shortstop Brian Medairos (Brockton, MA) would plate the go-ahead run in the second on a passed ball.

Smith gave BSC a 5-3 lead when he plated freshman right fielder Steve Lambert (Milton, MA) with an RBI double in the fourth.  Bridgewater State scored three more runs off of the Panther bullpen in the fifth to put the game out of reach.

Sophomore right-hander Spencer Hatstat (Clinton, MA) earned his first victory of the season going the distance in a 99-pitch performance. After giving up three runs through the first two innings Hatstat retired 16 of the final 19 batters he faced over the last five innings. He gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits while striking out six and walking two.

Sophomore Thomas Butler (Hixville, NY) was the losing pitcher on the mound for Old Westbury. He went four innings giving up five runs (four earned) on four hits to go along with five walks and five strikeouts. Classmate Dan Fordyce (Brentwood, NY) gave up three earned runs in relief.

Bridgewater State College was led by sophomore first baseman Dave Kiloski (Lowell, MA) who went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Freshman outfielder Steven Lambert (Milton, MA) finished 1-for-2 with two runs scored. He reached safely three times as he also walked and was hit by a pitch.

For the Panthers, Collodo went 2-for-3 with two RBI’s while Farmer finished the game 1-for-2 with a walk.

In game two, Bridgewater State exploded for eight runs in tbe first inning and 13 over the first three innings as the Bears rolled to the 19-8 win

Old Westbury junior right hander Jake Tauber (Valley Stream, NY) struggled giving up 10 earned runs through the two innings that he pitched. The Panthers bullpen was also charged with nine runs (eight earned) over the last five innings.

BSC sophomore right-hander Joe Caparrotta (Weymouth, MA) picked up the win in relief for the Bears. Freshman Tim Bonham (Plymouth, MA) earned his first career save retiring 8 of the 11 batters he faced, with three coming by way of strikeout. Bridgewater State junior right-hander Jeff Sarahs (Whitman, MA) was the starter giving up 8 runs (7 earned) on 9 hits while yielding a strikeout in 3 1/3 innings pitched.

After a Smith single in the first inning loaded the bases, Kiloski walked in the Bears first run of the game. BSC second baseman Kenny Downey (Braintree, MA) then hit an RBI single to put the Bears up 2-0.

Following a strikeout, Tauber walked the next two batters and hit third-baseman Mark Claffey (Bellingham, MA) all with the bases loaded to plate three more runs for BSC making the score 5-0. Bridgewater State plated a run with a wild pitch and then two more runs on a double from Lambert to go up 8-0.

Bridgewater scored six more runs over the next three innings to put the game well out of reach. The Panthers plated two runs in the second and six runs in the fourth to make the score 14-8, but the Bears continued to score. BSC added a run in the sixth and four more in the seventh highlighted by a three-run blast to right field by Smith.

Lambert paced the Bears with 4 runs scored and 2 RBIs while Smith went 3-for-5 with three RBI and four runs scored.

For Old Westbury, freshman catcher Steve Henriquez (North Babylon, NY) and first baseman Emmanuel Mateo (Brooklyn, NY) each finished the game 3-for-5. Henriquez scored two runs while Mateo scored a run and drove in three.

The Bears will continue their spring training trip in Cocoa, Florida when will face Mount Saint Mary in a rematch of yesterday’s loss. Freshman Greg Potts (Milton, MA) will get the nod to start the game.

Story by Steven M. Miller, Jr --- Sports Information Correspondent.