Baseball Sweeps Mass. Maritime in MASCAC Twinbill

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. -- Sophomore Sean Brooks's (Braintree, Mass.) sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth plated the winning run that lifted Bridgewater State to a 2-1 nightcap victory and a sweep of a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader from Massachusetts Maritime Thursday afternoon at Commodore Hendy Field.  The Bears received a pair of RBI each from seniors Tory Buck (Shelburne Falls, Mass.) and Trevor Lawson (Easton, Mass.) in the opener to notch a 7-3 triumph.

With the two wins, Bridgewater (17-12-1) clinches a spot in next week's MASCAC Tournament.  The Bears improve to 7-5 in conference play as they are currently in a three-way tie for third place in the standings.

The visiting Bears took a 1-0 fifth inning lead in the nightcap when senior David Pierce (East Bridgewater, Mass.) singled with two outs, stole second and scored on Lawson's RBI single, but the host Buccaneers (9-18, 3-9 MASCAC) evened matters in the bottom of the frame when freshman Matt King (Scituate, Mass.) plated junior pinch runner Devin Rudolph(Carver, Mass.) with a one-out triple but was later thrown out trying to steal home.

Both teams had chances to take the lead in the seventh, as senior Sean Riley (Fairhaven, Mass.) rapped a two-out double but was stranded in the top of the inning for Bridgewater State, and Massachusetts Maritime had runners at first and second with one out before lining into a double play.

Senior Keane Costa (Fairhaven, Mass.) started the Bears' winning rally with a lead-off single, as he advanced to second on a walk and to third on a sacrifice before Brooks lofted a fly ball to right field to plate the deciding tally.

Riley collected two of Bridgewater State's seven hits in the nightcap, as freshman Shane Surette (Haverhill, Mass.) earned his second victory of the season by getting the final five outs in relief of junior Kenny Pennini (Millis, Mass.), who allowed three hits and fanned six over the first 6 1/3 innings for the Bears.

Senior Zachary Sullivan (Barnstable, Mass.) and freshman Everett Walsh (Marstons Mills, Mass.) joined King with hits for Massachusetts Maritime, as freshman Kyle Kennedy (Woodbury, Conn.) allowed the go-ahead run in the eighth to fall to 2-3 on the spring. Sophomore Tyler Smith (Bellingham, Mass.) went the first five frames for the Buccaneers, scattering four hits while recording a strikeout.

Lawson's RBI single in the opening at-bat of the lid-lifter gave Bridgewater State a 1-0 advantage, and the Bears used a five-run rally with two outs in the second to take control of the contest, as Buck laced a two-run single that was followed by a pair of RBI doubles off the bats of Pierce and Lawson as well as an error.

Massachusetts Maritime got a run back in the bottom of the second on Sullivan's RBI double, and the Buccaneers sliced their deficit in half with two more tallies in the third on a triple by sophomore Bobby Rosano (North Reading, Mass.) and a run-scoring single by senior Tyler Genereux (Duxbury, Mass.).

The visitors would close out the scoring in the opener on Brooks's RBI single in the fifth, as the hosts loaded the bases to send the tying run to the plate in the seventh but were unable to capitalize.

Pierce, Lawson and Costa each had two hits as part of a 10-hit attack in the opening triumph for Bridgewater State, as junior Andy Sadoski (Harwich, Mass.) evened his record at 4-4 in allowing eight hits and three runs while fanning four over the first 6 2/3 innings.  Freshman Chris Pessotti (Burlington, Mass.) recorded the final out for the Bears with the bases loaded to earn his second save of the season.

Rosano rapped out two triples in the opening setback for Massachusetts Maritime, which also received a double from junior Ben Maher (Plymouth, Mass.), as sophomore Zacary Cooney (East Bridgewater, Mass.) suffered his fourth setback of the season on the mound for the Buccaneers in allowing four earned runs over the first 1 2/3 innings.

Massachusetts Maritime hosts MCLA in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Commodore Hendy Field beginning at 1:00 p.m., while Bridgewater State hosts Western New England in a non-league contest on Friday afternoon in Bridgewater, Mass. that also begins at 3:30 p.m.

Courtesy of Jim Seavey, Mass. Maritime Sports Information Director