Baseball Gets Past Fitchburg State, 6-5

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University baseball team held on for a 6-5 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over visiting Fitchburg State University on Friday afternoon at Alumni Park.

The Bears improve to 19-10 on the season and 9-2 in the MASCAC, while the Falcons fall to 6-24 overall and 2-9 in conference play. Bridgewater is now 66-30 versus Fitchburg since 1978 and 35-11 at home.

Junior third baseman Joey Molis (Cumberland, R.I.) drove in the game-winning with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning after the Bears watched a three-run lead disappear due to a pair of defensive miscues in the top half of the inning.

Fitchburg jumped out to the early lead as senior left fielder Vincent Eramo (Shirley, Mass.) launched a two-run homer over the left field fence in the top of the first inning.

Bridgewater pushed across two runs in the bottom of the second inning to knot the score at 2-2. Senior designated hitter Jonathan O'Donnell (Hull, Mass.) singled and junior first baseman Dan Saraceno (Mansfield, Mass.) was hit by a pitch to open the frame. After a sacrifice bunt, sophomore catcher Eric Longley (Mansfield, Mass.) lined an RBI single into left to get the Bears on the board. Sophomore left fielder Joe Frechette (Plymouth, Mass.) then laid down a perfectly execute squeeze bunt to plate Saraceno with the tying run.

The game remained deadlocked until the bottom of the fifth when the Bears rallied for three runs to take a 5-2 lead. A Frechette double and a bunt single by sophomore shortstop Kevin Lindsay (East Bridgewater, Mass.) put runner on first and second with nobody out. Frechette then scored all the way from first on Emerson's RBI bunt single to put the hosts on top. Lindsay raced home on a wild pitch and Emerson scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of sophomore right fielder Jay Wladkowski (Norwood, Mass.) to round out the scoring in the frame.

In the top of the eighth inning, graduate designated hitter Richard Sharp (Townsend, Mass.) led off the frame with a solo blast to left field to cut the deficit to 5-3. Junior first baseman Zachary Malek (Schenectady, N.Y.) followed with a base hit and, one out later, stole second. After an out, senior second baseman Zachary Morris (Salem, N.H.) reached on a two-base throwing error to pull the Falcons to one. Freshman shortstop Liam Goldstein (Charlestown, R.I.) then lofted a misplayed RBI single to right to even the score at 5-5.

Bridgewater reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the eighth. With one out, Saraceno lined a base hit up the middle and advanced to second on an error by the centerfielder. Molis then drove an RBI double to deep center to give the Bears a 6-5 lead.

Junior righthander Tyler Dasilva-Medeiros (Taunton, Mass.), who faced two batters in the eighth, worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth to close out the game. Dasilva-Medeiros (1-1) gave up a hit and a walk in 1 1/3 innings with one strikeout to record his first win of the season.

Junior righthander Matthew Seavey (North Attleboro, Mass.) got the start for the Bears and allowed five runs (three earned) on eight hits in 7 2/3 innings. Seavey walked two and fanned eight. He threw 123 pitches including 89 for strikes.

Freshman righthander Orion Daily (Nantucket, Mass.) went all eight innings in a 115-pitch effort (75 strikes) for Fitchburg State. Daily (0-3) gave up six runs on nine hits with three walks and three strikeouts.

Both teams finished with nine hits in the contest with the Falcons leaving nine runners on base and the Bears stranding six.

Molis (2-3, 2B, SAC, RBI) and Frechette (2-3, 2B, SAC, R, RBI) each notched multiple hits for the Bears.

Sharp homered doubled and walked in five plate appearances to pace the Fitchburg offensive. Eramo (2-4, HR, R, 2RBI) also finished with two hits for the Falcons.

The two teams will face-off again tomorrow afternoon at Fitchburg State's Riccards Field with game one of the MASCAC doubleheader getting underway at noon.