Baseball Downs UMass Dartmouth, 6-3

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University baseball team defeated visiting UMass Dartmouth, 6-3, on Monday afternoon at Alumni Park.

Bridgewater improves to 11-11 on the season with the win, while UMass falls to 10-7.

Kenny Pennini (Millis, Mass.) went the distance on the mound for the Bears to pick up his second win of the season.  Pennini (2-2) allowed three runs on seven hits with a walk and three strikeouts.

Bridgewater took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as the first four batters reached in the frame capped off by an RBI single by Craig Stewart (Brockton, Mass.).  The Bears, however, left the bases loaded as UMass starting pitcher Nate Farias (Fall River, Mass.) avoided any further damage by retiring the next three hitters.

The Corsairs tied the game in the top half of the third inning on an RBI single off the bat of Bedward Ortiz (La Vega, D.R.).

The Bears reclaimed the advantage with an unearned run in the fourth on an RBI single by John Garabedian (Mansfield, Mass.).  That lead was short-lived, however, as the Corsairs evened the score at 2-2 in the top of the fifth as Mike LaFlamme (Bedford, N.H.) reached on a hustle double and scored all the way from second on a wild pitch.

Bridgewater moved ahead to stay in the bottom of the fifth as three straight singles by Keane Costa (Fairhaven, Mass.), Trevor Lawson (Easton, Mass.) and Tory Buck (Shelburne Falls, Mass.) loaded the bases with two outs. Farias then uncorked a wild pitch scoring Costa from third with the Bears' third run of the game.

Bridgewater tacked on three runs in the bottom of the eighth off UMass reliever Pat Lavey (Cranton, R.I.).  Garabedian reached on the Corsairs' fourth error of the game to lead off the frame, stole second and moved to third on a base hit by Sean Riley (Fairhaven, Mass.).   Jose Polanco (Lawrence, Mass.) followed with an RBI single plating Garabedian and moving Riley to second. Riley then advanced to third on a fly out and came home on a wild pitch.  Costa knocked in Polanco with the Bears' third run of the frame with a line drive single to left.

A two-out RBI double by Luke Bomback (Swansea, Mass.) cut the deficit to 6-3 in the ninth and also brought the tying run to the plate, but Pennini retired Andy Ekstrom (Millbury, Mass.) on a soft liner to first to end the game. 

Riley paced the Bears' 14-hit attack as he went 3-for-4 with a double and scored a pair of runs.  Polanco, Costa, Lawson and Buck added two hits apiece.  Bridgewater left 12 runners on base in the game.

LaFlamme finished 2-for-3 at the plate with a double and two runs scored to lead the UMass offense.  Alex Newton (Saco, Maine) was the only other Corsair with multiple hits as he went 2-for-4 and scored a run.

Farias (1-2) suffered the loss on the mound for the visitors as he worked the first seven innings giving up three runs (two earned) on 11 hits with two walks and three strikeouts.