Bridgewater State Heads into Baseball Postseason on a Roll

Streaking Bears Head into MASCAC Tourney Having Won 18 of Last 20 Games

By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The turnaround began in the second game of a doubleheader on March 31 at Framingham State University. After going 6-3 in Vero Beach, Fla., the Bridgewater State University baseball team had dropped eight of its first 11 games to open the New England portion of the schedule.

In the nightcap of that twinbill with Framingham State, though, the Bears got a complete-game pitching performance from Corey Batista and held off the Rams, 4-3, to start what has become an incredible roll.

That victory sent BSU on a spree in which it has won 18 of the last 20 games, earning the program’s first Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season championship since 2006 and home-field advantage throughout the tournament.

The Bears (27-13) are hosting the double-elimination MASCAC tourney for the first time since 2004 and will open by playing fourth-seeded Salem State University on Thursday at 3 p.m. at Alumni Park.

“This team has worked extremely hard to get to this point,’’ said Coach Rick Smith. “They never lost faith and they never stopped working.’’

BSU, which won the MASCAC tournament and advanced to the NCAA Div. 3 New England Regional final round last spring, has used superb starting pitching, solid defense and timely hitting to turn things around.

The Bears have 27 complete games and have been led by Andy Sadoski (7-1, 1.79 earned run average), Jim Balboni (5-4, 3.28), Batista (6-3, 3.33), Kenny Pennini (4-2, 3.46) and Bryant Warner (4-1, 4.65). The team ERA is an impressive 3.65.

Batista, who underwent knee surgery last summer after suffering an injury in the NCAA tourney, has eight complete games and a school-record 17 in his two seasons with the Bears.

“Batista and Balboni have been pitching against the iron of the conference, and Sadoski has really stepped up as a sophomore,’’ said Smith. “We’ve really gotten solid pitching.’’

The offense is sparked by Sean Riley, who leads the team with a .395 average, 24 doubles, six triples, seven home runs, 115 total bases, a .782 slugging percentage and a .467 on-base percentage. Riley, the MASCAC co-player of the week, set BSU records for doubles and total bases.

Junior David Pierce of East Bridgewater is having his best season, hitting .382 with 12 doubles and is tied with Riley with 37 RBI. Ian Williams of Taunton (.341) and Jose Polanco (.304) are also above .300.

Smith credits shortstop Trevor Lawson of Easton, who is batting .283, with anchoring the BSU defense.

“He is making a ‘web gem’ a game for us,’’ said Smith. “He is always anticipating plays.’’

BSU won the MASCAC tourney in Westfield last season, then went 3-1 to reach the final round of the NCAA regional before losing to Western New England.

“Having that experience is going to pay huge dividends,’’ said Smith. “That’s where they want to go again. We’ve got kids on the team who weren’t here last year, and the older guys keep telling them how they want to get back there.’’

The BSU-Salem State winner will play on Saturday at 1 p.m. while the loser will be in an elimination game at 10 a.m. There will also be an elimination game at 4 p.m. on Saturday with the final round starting at noon on Sunday.