Baseball Downs Eastern Nazarene for Fourth Straight Win

WEYMOUTH, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University baseball team extended its winning streak to four straight games as the visiting Bears posted an 8-4 victory over Eastern Nazarene College on Thursday afternoon at Libby Field.

The Bears improve to 6-3 on the season, while the host Lions fall to 6-7.

Junior righthander Matthew Seavey (North Attleboro, Mass.) was very sharp on the mound for Bridgewater State as he tossed eight strong innings to record his second win of the season. Seavey (2-1) allowed four runs, only one of which was earned, on three hits. He did not issue a walk and struck out seven.

Junior first baseman Dan Saraceno (Mansfield, Mass.)went 2-for-5 with his second home run of the season, two runs and two RBI to lead the Bears' 11-hit attack, while sophomore catcher Mathew Pigeon (Canton, Mass.) was 2-for-4 at the plate with a double, a triple, two runs and an RBI.

Sophomore rightfielder Jay Wladkowski (Norwood, Mass.), junior centerfielder Sean Goudey (Weymouth, Mass.) and sophomore shortstop Kevin Lindsay (East Bridgewater, Mass.) also finished with multiple hits for Bridgewater State. Wladkowski went 2-for-5 with a stolen base, two runs and an RBI, while Goudey singled twice in four at bats and knocked in a run. Lindsay was 2-for-3 at the dish with a stolen base, sacrifice bunt, run and an RBI.

The Bears opened the scoring with a four-run third inning. Pigeon led off the frame with double and raced home on Lindsay's bunt single. Lindsay stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI single off the bat of Wladkowski. Saraceno followed with a two-run blast over the right field fence to give the visitors a 4-0 lead.

The Lions answered with an unearned run in the home half of the third as graduate second baseman Steven Pesce (Harrison, N.Y.) knocked in freshman left fielder Tyler Bean (Wellington, Fla.) with an RBI groundout. Bean reach on a two-base error to lead off the frame.

Bridgewater State scored twice in the fourth to extend the lead to 6-1. Pigeon roped a triple to right field to plate sophomore left fielder Joe Frechette (Plymouth, Mass.) before scoring on a base knock by Goudey.

The Bears added a run in the fifth to widen the margin to 7-1. Wladkowski singled to lead off the inning, stole second, moved to third on a ground out and crossed the plate on a wild pitch.

Eastern Nazarene generated three runs in the home half of the fifth inning to pull to within three at 7-4. Sophomore designated hitter Cam Barry (Manchester, Conn.) belted a solo shot to left field to pick up his first collegiate homer. Bean scurried home on a wild pitch and senior Brandon Guerrero (Boston, Mass.) scored on another RBI groundout by Pesce.

The guests tacked on a run in the seventh to close out the scoring. With one out, Saraceno singled and advanced to second when senior designated hitter Jonathan O'Donnell (Hull, Mass.) was hit by a pitch. Saraceno would come around to score the final run of the game on a passed ball and throwing error.

Freshman lefthander Shane Handrahan (Raynham, Mass.) came on in relief for the Bears in the ninth and worked around an error to secure the win. Handrahan faced four batters as he induced a pair of ground outs and recorded a strikeout.

Senior lefthander Morgan Weast (Cincinnati, Ohio) gave up seven runs on nine hits in the setback for the Lions. Weast (1-3) walked one and fanned five. Sophomore righthander Kelvin Cortez (Corona, N.Y.) tossed three solid innings of relief for ENC as he allowed just one unearned run on two hits with a pair of strikeouts.

Pesce went 1-for-4 with a pair of RBI as he collected his program-record 179th career hit.

The Bears travel to UMass Dartmouth on Friday afternoon for one o'clock doubleheader with the Corsairs.