Koneski, Smith Lead BSC to 13-5 Win Over Medaille

Box Score

COCOA, Fla. -- Senior leftfielder Steve Smith (East Taunton, MA) went 4-for-5 with home run and four runs batted in, while junior centerfielder Brad Koneski (North Dighton, MA) was a perfect 3-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBI, as the Bridgewater State College Bears defeated Medaille College, 13-5, on Wednesday afternoon in Cocoa, Florida.

The Bears, winners of four straight, improve to 5-1 on their spring trip while the Mavericks fall to 4-5 with the loss.

Smith, who homered for the third straight game, has hit safely in all six games this season and is 12-for-16 with three home runs and 11 RBI over the last three games. Smith is currently batting .556 with three home runs, six doubles, 13 RBI and 10 runs scored.

After hitting a sacrifice fly in the first, Koneski doubled in a run in the fourth, belted an RBI triple in the sixth and singled and stole a base in the eighth.  All three times he reached safely he came around to score a run.

Bridgewater State right-hander Dave Matthews (Willison, VT) gave up four runs on 10 hits over 5 1/3 innings of work to record his first win of the season.  Matthews did not walk a batter and struck out two.

The Bears scored a pair of runs in each of the first two innings and led 4-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth. BSC tacked on four more runs in the fourth highlighted by the RBI double by Koneski and a two-run homer from Smith.

In the sixth the Mavericks rallied for three runs to make the score 8-4, but the Bears answered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning and three more in the eighth to out the game out of reach.

Freshman Steven Lambert (Milton, MA) also went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBI. Lambert tripled in sophomore third baseman Mark Claffey (Bellingham, MA) in the first and then plated two more runs with RBI singles in the fourth and eighth innings.

Senior second basemen Nick Andreassi (Rochester, NY) paced Medaille going 4-for-5 with four singles. Sophomore third baseman Steve Kanustu (Buffalo, NY) went 3-for-4 with two RBI while first baseman Brandon Lumandue (Cheektowaga, NY) was 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI. Designated hitter John Prorok (Hilton, NY) finished 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI.

Sophomore Ben Altman (Taunton, MA) relieved Matthews in the sixth and senior Brian Schilling (Weymouth, MA) followed Altman out of the bullpen. Altman allowed one run on four hits while striking out two in 2 1/3 innings. In his third appearance in six games this season, Schilling allowed one hit while striking out two in an inning and a third.

The Bears wrap up their annual pilgrimage to Cocoa, Florida with a double-header versus Richard Stockton. Senior Martin Anderson (Meriden, CT) will get the start in game one while junior Dave Liffers (Norwell, MA) gets the nod in the second game. The first pitch will be thrown at 12:30 pm at Cocoa High School.

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