Baseball Edges Coast Guard in 11 Innings, 5-4

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- The Bridgewater State University baseball team bested the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 5-4, in 11 innings on Wednesday afternoon at The Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach.

Bridgewater State improves to 4-1 on the season while Coast Guard falls to 1-3.

With the score knotted at 4-4 in the bottom of the 11th, BSU junior left fielder Cam James (Ipswich, Mass.) led off the frame with a walk and moved all the way to third when junior shortstop Kevin Lindsay's (East Bridgewater, Mass.) sacrifice bunt attempt turned into a two-base error. One out later, freshman right fielder Dan Jasmin (East Meadow, N.Y.) was thrown out at first on a dropped third strike. A hustling James, however, took off for the plate and slid in ahead of the tag to score the game-winning run.

Freshman righthander Trey Yesu (Monson, Mass.) tossed three innings of relief to record his first collegiate win. Yesu gave up one run on three hits with a walk and four strikeouts.

Sophomore righty Cameron Breault (Buzzards Bay, Mass.) got the start on the mound for Bridgewater State and went six innings giving up three runs on five hits with three walks and a pair of strikeouts. Freshman righthander Matt Kustigian (Charlton, Mass.) hurled two shutout innings of relief in his collegiate debut, allowing just one hit while fanning one.

Bridgewater pushed across a pair of runs in the bottom of the first to jump out to the early lead. Jasmin rapped an RBI single and sophomore centerfielder DJ Prampin (Worcester, Mass.) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. An RBI single by freshman designated hitter Riley Thornell (Wareham, Mass.) in the second extended the BSU advantage to 3-0.

Sophomore second baseman Wyatt Duthu (Madison, Ala.) belted a two-run homer in the top of the third to cut the Coast Guard deficit to 3-2.

A bases loaded walk to senior catcher Mathew Pigeon (Canton, Mass.) in the bottom of the fifth gave Bridgewater a two-run cushion at 4-2.

Coast Guard pulled to within a run on wild pitch in the seventh and tied it in the ninth on a Greg Boland (Sr., Acworth, Ga.) sacrfice fly to send the game into extra innings.

Thornell (3-4, 2 BB, R, RBI) reached safely five times to pace BSU's 12-hit attack. Lindsay (2-5, 2B, R, 2 SB), Jasmin (2-7, R, RBI) and sophomore second baseman Scott Emerson (Peabody, Mass.) also recorded multiple hits for Bridgewater State. Emerson went 2-for-7 with a double and a run scored.

Duthu (3-5) finished with three hits in the game to pace the Coast Guard offense.

Junior righthander Charles Red (Panama, City, Fla.) gave up three runs on four hits over 1 2/3 innings with two walks and a strikeout in the start for Coast Guard. Four relievers combined to give up two runs (one earned) on eight hits over eight innings with seven walks and ten strikeouts.

Bridgewater State stranded 19 runners on base including the bases loaded in the first, fifth, sixth and ninth innings.

Bridgewater State's trip to Myrtle Beach continues on Thursday afternoon as the Bears take on the Penn State Berks at 12:30.