Baseball Sweeps Salem State in MASCAC Twinbill

By Jim Fenton

SALEM, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University baseball team is off to a 5-1 start in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference.

The Bears swept a doubleheader from Salem State University, 5-4, in 11 innings and 4-2 on Sunday afternoon and are riding a five-game winning streak.

BSU won the opener in the fourth extra inning on a two-out RBI single by junior Ryan Flaherty (Duxbury, Mass.).

Senior Kevin Lindsay (East Bridgewater, Mass.) went 4-for-5 with two RBI.

The Bears then got strong pitching from senior Shane Handrahan (Raynham, Mass.) in the nightcap. He allowed just four hits in a complete-game performance.

BSU is 14-7 overall after sweeping the three-game series while Salem State is 6-11 and 2-4 in the MASCAC.

Game One: Bridgewater State 5, Salem State 4 (11 Inn.)

The Bears broke a 4-4 tie in the 11th as Flaherty drove home senior Kevin Lindsay (Peabody, Mass.) with the winning run.

Lindsay singled and went to second on a wild pitch. With two outs, sophomore Benjamin Sepeck (Whitman, Mass.) walked and Flaherty followed with the RBI hit.

BSU opened the scoring in the fourth inning when junior Joshua Selander (Granby, Conn.) singled home senior Brendan Flaven (Taunton, Mass.), who had doubled.

The Vikings tied it in the bottom of the fourth as they loaded the bases and got the run home on a fielder's choice.

Salem State went up, 2-1, in the fifth on a two-out RBI single up the middle by junior Owen Duggan (Billerica, Mass.).

The score remained that way until the top of the seventh when the Bears took a 3-2 lead.

Lindsay's two-out, two-run single to center put BSU in front, scoring pinch runner Jeyden Espinal (Fall River, Mass.) and freshman Jamie Luna (Warwick, R.I.), who had singled.

But Salem State forced extra innings with a run in the bottom of the seventh.

Singles by junior Aidan Lynch (North Andover, Mass.) and Duggan set up sophomore Nolan Currier (Maynard, Mass.), who singled through the left side to make it 3-3.

BSU moved in front, 4-3, in the ninth inning on an RBI single by senior Scott Emerson (Peabody, Mass.) after Espinal reached on an error and was sacrificed to second.

Salem State tied it again in the bottom of the ninth on a two-out homer by Currier.

The Bears moved back in front in the 11th and winning pitcher Nick Reiser (Nahant, Mass.) set the side down in order to seal the win.

Reiser (1-2), a senior, worked 4 1/3 innings and gave up a run and two hits while striking out two.

Starter Trey Yesu (Monson, Mass.) worked 6 2/3 innings and had six strikeouts and no walks for the Bears.

Currier led the Salem State offense, going 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI. BSU outhit the Vikings, 13-11.

It was the Bears' second extra-inning game of the season.

Game Two: Bridgewater State 4, Salem State 2

Handrahan is 1-1 after stopping the Vikings.

He gave up two runs and three hits in the first inning, then allowed just a seventh-inning single the rest of the way.

Salem State took a 2-0 lead in the first, the initial run scoring on a groundout while freshman Ethan Supplettis (Prospect, Conn.) added an RBI single through the left side.

After that, the Vikings managed only a one-out single in the seventh by sophomore Yabdriel Gonzalez (New Haven, Conn.) against Handrahan.

He struck out five and walked two while starting for the sixth time this season.

BSU tied it, 2-2, in the second inning as Selander walked, senior DJ Prampin (Worcester, Mass.) doubled down the left-field line and Thornell had an RBI single. A fielder's choice brought home the second run.

The Bears took the lead in the fourth inning when Lindsay drew a bases-loaded walk and added another run in the seventh on a single to left by Selander, bringing in Lindsay, who had walked and advanced on Flaven's single to right.

Junior Nick Bamford (Stoneham, Mass.) took the loss for the Vikings, giving up three runs and six hits with three strikeouts in four innings.

BSU had 10 hits in the game and 23 in the doubleheader.

The Bears are home Wednesday for a 3:30 p.m. game against Curry College.

Salem State travels to Westfield State for a 3:30 game Friday.