Balboni, Riley Lead Baseball to 3-0 MASCAC Tournament Win over Framingham

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Jim Balboni (Townsend, Mass.) tossed a complete game shutout and Sean Riley (Fairhaven, Mass.) belted a leadoff homer to lead top-seeded Bridgewater State to a 3-0 victory over number three Framingham State in the winner's bracket final of the 2012 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Baseball Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Park.

Bridgewater (29-13) advances to the tournament championship round on Sunday at noon.  Framingham (26-15) will take on Salem in the loser's bracket final at four with the winner of that game moving on to Sunday's final round.

Balboni (6-4) scattered six hits, walked just one and fanned seven as he threw 102 pitches.  The shutout marked the Bears' second straight to begin the tournament as Corey Batista (Fall River, Mass.) blanked Salem on four hits in Bridgewater's 1-0 victory on Thursday.

Riley belted the first pitch he saw well over the right-field scoreboard to open the bottom of the first inning.  The Bears tacked on two more runs in the frame as Jose Polanco (Lawrence, Mass.) followed with a bunt single, while David Pierce (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and Ian Williams (Taunton, Mass.) each walked to load the bases. Trevor Lawson (Easton, Mass.) knocked in Polanco with a sacrifice fly which also advanced Pierce to third and Williams to second.  Keane Costa (Fairhaven, Mass.) then gave BSU a 3-0 lead on an RBI ground out to short which plated Pierce from third.

Balboni left runners on in each of the first four innings but then settled down to retire 16 of the final 18 batters he faced.  With the win, he became just the fourth pitcher in Bridgewater baseball history to reach the 20-win plateau, joining Jason Newhall (24) and BSU Hall of Famers Kevin Cadres (22) and Paul Duffy (20).

Ryan Stoller (Milton, Mass.) went seven plus innings in the loss for the visiting Rams.  Stoller (4-4) gave up three runs on four hits and five walks while striking out two.