Baseball Sweeps Mass. Maritime in MASCAC Twinbill

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University baseball team swept a key Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) doubleheader with vising Massachusetts Maritime Academy on Tuesday afternoon at Alumni Park. Bridgewater won the first game, 4-3, and completed the sweep with an 8-7 darkness/rain-shortened victory in the nightcap.

The Bears, who grabbed sole possession of first place in the conference standings, improve to 23-10 on the season and 13-2 in the MASCAC, while the Buccaneers fall to 19-13 overall and 11-4 in conference play. Bridgewater is 74-23 versus Mass. Maritime since 1973.

Game One: Bridgewater State 4, Mass. Maritime 3

Sophomore left fielder Joe Frechette (Plymouth, Mass.) and freshman second baseman Scott Emerson (Peabody, Mass.) notched three hits apiece to lead the Bears to a 4-3 victory in game one of the doubleheader. Frechette was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a triple, a stolen base and two runs batted in, while Emerson went 3-for-4 with a stolen base and run scored.

Freshman lefthander Shane Handrahan (Raynham, Mass.) tossed six solid innings on the hill for the Bears to pick up his fourth win of the season. Handrahan (4-0) allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits with no walks and a pair of strikeouts.

The Bears pushed across a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning. Emerson singled and junior first baseman Dan Saraceno (Mansfield, Mass.) walked to put two runners on with one out. After a ground out advanced the runners to second and third, Frechette looped an RBI single onto the edge of the right field grass to put the hosts on top. A throwing error on a stolen base attempt allowed Saraceno to cross the plate with the second run of the frame.

The Buccaneers cut the deficit to 2-1 in the top of the fifth. Senior catcher Frank Aten (Brockton, Mass.) singled, advanced to third on a double by junior right fielder Chris Perito (East Falmouth, Mass.)and scored on sacrifice fly by senior centerfielder A.J. Luciano (Lynn, Mass.).

Bridgewater got the run right back in the home half of the fifth as sophomore right fielder Jay Wladkowski (Norwood, Mass.) walked and designated player Jonathan O'Donnell (Hull, Mass.) was hit by pitch to put runners at first and second with one out. Frechette then lined an RBI single to center to give the Bears a 3-1 lead.

Maritime tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the sixth. Sophomore first baseman AJ Pietrafesa (Harwinton, Conn.) was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a balk, to third on a wild pitch and scored on senior designated hitter Aidan Henderson's (Hanover, Mass.) RBI infield single. Henderson would come around to score following back-to-back BSU infield errors.

The Bears reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Sophomore centerfielder Shane Foley (East Bridgewater, Mass.) walked and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Emerson then lined a base hit through the right side with Foley coming around to score when the ball was mishandled in right field.

BSU junior righthander Tyler Dasilva-Medeiros (Taunton, Mass.) came out of the bullpen to start the seventh and worked around a pair of hits to record the save. Medeiros fanned two batters in the inning.

Junior righthander John Tropea (East Sandwich, Mass.) was saddled with the loss for the Buccaneers. Tropea (0-3) gave up a run on one hit with a walk and a strikeout in 1 2/3 innings of relief. Freshman righty Sam Huffman (Guilford, Conn.) worked the first 4 1/3 inning for Maritime and allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

Game Two: Bridgewater State 8, Mass. Maritime 7 (6 Inn.)

The Bears scored the first six runs of the game and then hung on for the 8-7 win in game two and a sweep of the twinbill. The game was stopped after the top of the sixth inning due to darkness and the drizzling rain.

Emerson (2-2, 2B, 2SB, 3R), Wladkowski (2-3, 2R, 2RBI) and Saraceno (2-4, 2B, 2RBI) registered two hits apiece for Bridgewater State in the nightcap while O'Donnell drove in three runs. Emerson reached safely four times as he also walked twice. The Bears were issued nine walks in game two with Frechette reaching on three free passes.

Emerson scored on a double steal and O'Donnell drove in Wladkowski with an RBI groundout in the first inning to give the host an early 2-0 lead.

A two-run single by Wladkowski and a two-run double off the bat of Saraceno extended the BSU advantage to 6-0 in the second.

The Buccaneers chipped away at the deficit getting on the board with a run in the top of the third inning on an RBI double by senior right fielder Alex Schlapak (Dover, N.H.) RBI double. An RBI single by senior catcher Michael Doyle (Boston, Mass.) and a Tucker Leslie (So., 2B, Mashpee, Mass.) sacrifice fly made it a 6-3 game in the fourth. Maritime then pulled to within one on Tropea's RBI double in the fifth.

The Bears loaded the bases with two outs in the home half of the fifth inning when a dropped foul ball gave O'Donnell new life. O'Donnell promptly lined a clutch two-run single into right field to extend the BSU lead to 8-5.

Senior shortstop Zach Sylvia (Brockton, Mass.) drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and Pietrafesa followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 8-7 with darkness falling and the rain coming down in the top of the sixth. With the tying run on base and the go ahead run at the plate, Dasilva-Medeiros came on and ended the game with a strikeout to record his team-leading sixth save of the season.

Freshman righthander Cameron Breault (Buzzards Bay, Mass.) went the first five innings on the mound for the Bears to pick up the win. Breault (2-2) gave up five runs on nine hits with walk and three strikeouts.

Senior lefthander Brady Parks (Bridgeville, DE) was tagged with the loss for the Bucs as he worked into the second inning. Parks allowed six runs on four hits with a pair of walks and two strikeouts. He also hit a batter.

Schlapak (2-4, R, RBI), Pietrafesa (2-4, R, RBI), Tropea (2-3, R, 2RBI) and Doyle (2-3, RBI) finished with two hits apiece to lead the Maritime 12-hit attack in game two. Both of Schlapak's hits were for extra bases as he doubled twice.

In upcoming action, the Bears travel to Brandeis University on Wednesday evening for a seven o'clock game with the Judges. The Buccaneers entertain MASCAC rival Salem State University on Friday afternoon at four o'clock.

Notes: The Bears stole six bases in the doubleheader to increase their season total to 96. The BSU single-season team record is 99 set in 2009.