Baseball Drops Pair of Games to Emerson

BROCKTON, Mass. – The Emerson College baseball team swept a non-conference doubleheader with Bridgewater State University on Saturday at cold and rainy Campanelli Stadium in Brockton.

The Lions (9-6) posted a 5-3 victory in game one and completed the sweep with a 6-5 win in the nightcap. The Bears fall to 8-5 with the pair of setbacks.

Game One: Emerson 5, Bridgewater State 3

Junior righthander Chris Lowe (Chatham, N.J.) scattered nine hits in the complete game effort to lead Emerson to the 5-3 win in the opener. Lowe (2-2) allowed three runs (one earned) with a pair of walks and four strikeouts. He stranded seven BSU runners on base.

An RBI double by senior first baseman Matt Nachamie (Merrick, N.Y.) followed by a two-run double by senior designated hitter Chris Ferara (Coral Springs, Fla.) staked the Lions to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first.

The Bears cut the deficit to 3-1 on an RBI single by sophomore centerfielder DJ Prampin (Worcester, Mass.) in the top of the second.

A pair of RBI singles by Nachamie and sophomore second baseman Briggs Loveland (Burleson, Texas) in the home half of the second extended the Emerson advantage to 5-1.

Bridgewater answered with a pair of unearned runs in the top of the third to make it a 5-3 game. Freshman designated hitter Dan Jasmin (East Meadow, N.Y.) connected for an RBI single in the frame while the Lions committed three errors.

That, however, would be all the scoring in the game. The Bears left runners on second and third in the fifth and stranded a runner on third with less than two outs in the sixth.

Graduate righthander Matt Josselyn (Hanson, Mass.) settled down after a shaky start to toss six solid innings for Bridgewater State. Josselyn (2-2) gave up five runs on eight hits with a walk and five strikeouts. He retired 12 of the last 14 batters he faced.

Freshman third baseman Riley Thornell (Wareham, Mass.) was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate and scored a run to pace the BSU offense.

Loveland (2-3, R, RBI), Nachamie (2-3, 2B, R, 2RBI) and senior third baseman Jake Hatch (Carlisle, Mass.) recorded two hits apiece for the Lions.

Game Two: Emerson 6, Bridgewater State 5

An RBI single by Loveland with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning broke a five-all tie and lifted the Lions to the 6-5 victory in game two and a sweep of the twinbill.

The two teams combined for ten runs over the first two innings.

An RBI single by senior first baseman Joey Molis (Cumberland, R.I.) followed by a Jasmin three-run homer staked Bridgewater State to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first. The home run marked Jasmin's second of the season.

Emerson was gifted two runs in the bottom of the first to close to within 4-2. With runners at second and third with one out, Nachamie hit a shallow fly out to center. Both runners tagged but did not advance. However, an errant throw attempting to catch the runner at third coming too far down the line allowed two runs to score.

The Bears got one back in the top of the second to extend the lead to 5-2. Junior shortstop Kevin Lindsay (East Bridgewater, Mass.) singled with one out, advanced to second on a balk, to third on a ground out and trotted home on an RBI double by junior right fielder Jay Wladkowski (Norwood, Mass.).

Fireworks erupted in the bottom of the second as the Emerson dugout and BSU starting pitcher David Kerns (East Cambridge, Mass.) exchanged words after a hit by pitch. On the ensuing sacrifice bunt, Kerns fielded the ball and applied a hard tag knocking the batter to the ground which prompted a swift ejection by the base umpire. Moments later, a pair of RBI doubles by Hatch and junior centerfielder Ty Bourne (Tappan, N.Y.) sandwiched around RBI single by graduate left fielder Quinton Copeland (Houston, Texas) knotted the game at 5-5.

The score remained 5-5 until the bottom of the sixth. After the first two batters were retired, a high pop up, which was held up by a strong wind, fell in at the edge of the infield grass for a double. Loveland then laced an RBI single up the middle to plate Hatch with the go ahead run.

Freshman righthander Angelo Deer (West Orange, N.J.) picked up the complete game win on the mound for Emerson. Deer (2-2) allowed five runs on six hits over seven innings with three walks and six strikeouts. After giving up the run in the second inning, he retired 14 of next 15 batters before loading the bases with two outs in the top of the seventh on a single, a hit by pitch and walk. Deer ended the game by inducing a foul pop up to the second baseman.

Freshman righthander Trey Yesu (Monson, Mass.) was tagged with the loss for the Bears in relief of the starter Kerns. Yesu (1-2) gave up three runs on eight hits over 4 2/3 innings with three strikeouts. He did not issue a walk and hit a batter. Kerns allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits in 1 1/3 innings with a walk and a strikeout. He also hit a batter.

Copeland went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI to pace the Lions' ten-hit attack. Hatch (2-3, 2R, RBI) and senior shortstop Thai Morgan (Waldwick, N.J.) also notched multiple hits for the Lions. Morgan singled twice in three at bats and stole two bases.

Wladkowski (2-4, 2B, R, RBI) and Lindsay (2-3, R) tallied two hits apiece for Bridgewater State.

In upcoming action, the Bears entertain Lasell University on Tuesday afternoon at 3:30.