Baseball Runs Streak to 13 with 7-2 MASCAC Win Over MCLA

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University baseball team has put together the program's longest winning streak in 34 years.

The Bears have 13 straight victories after defeating the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, 7-2, on Thursday afternoon at Alumni Park.

The 1992 team had a program-record 20-game winning streak from April 5-30 on the way to a 30-6 season that ended in the NCAA Division III tournament. The Bears played their games at Legion Field then under coach Glenn Tufts.

BSU's 13 consecutive wins ties the streak that the 1989 team had while going 25-7.

The victory over MCLA improves the Bears' record to 18-5 and 12-1 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference. BSU has not lost since March 24 in the conference opener.

The Bears fell behind, 1-0, in the second inning, then scored the next five runs.

Junior Jaden Arruda (Seekonk, Mass.) improved to 2-0, allowing two runs and a hit in five innings with three strikeouts.

Senior Matt Kustigian (Charlton, Mass.) worked three scoreless innings, giving up two hits with a pair of strikeouts and sophomore Chase Beach (Orleans, Mass.) pitched the ninth inning, allowing a leadoff hit and striking out three.

BSU had six hits, two each coming from sophomore Cam Beltramini (Hanson, Mass.) and junior Benjamin Sepeck (Whitman, Mass.).

Senior DJ Prampin (Worcester, Mass.) reached safely in all four of his plate appearances with a single, two walks and a hit by pitch. He also accounted for three of the Bears' seven stolen bases on the afternoon.

Beltramini and Prampin each extended their hitting streaks to 13 games while Sepeck now has an 11-game hitting streak.

MCLA (8-17, 2-11 MASCAC with eight straight losses) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning against Arruda.

Freshman Gavin Pettit (Southington, Conn.) doubled to left field, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a fielder's choice.

The Bears went on top, 2-1, in the third as junior Rylan Secovich (Southwick, Mass.) walked and Beltramini had an infield hit. On a double steal, Secovich wound up scoring on a throwing error to tie the game.

Senior Ryan Flaherty (Duxbury, Mass.) gave BSU, which is 8-1 at home, the lead with a groundout.

BSU made it 5-1 in the fourth inning as an infield hit by freshman Nick Berube (Swampscott, Mass.) scored Prampin, who had reached on an infield hit and stole two bases.

Sophomore Jamie Luna (Warwick, R.I.), who had walked, scored on a groundout by Secovich and an infield error brought in Berube.

MCLA's final run was in the fifth on a sacrifice fly to center by junior Clayton Dutfield (Delmar, N.Y.).

BSU added two runs in the eighth inning when sophomore Jeyden Espinal (Fall River, Mass.) walked, stole second and scored on a double down the left-field line by Beltramini.

Sepeck added an RBI double to right-center, scoring pinch runner Danny Jasmin (East Meadow, N.Y.).

Sophomore Cam Harrington (Pittsfield, Mass.), the first of five MCLA pitchers, took the loss, allowing two runs in 2 1/3 innings. MCLA pitching issued nine walks and hit three batters.

BSU will travel to North Adams, Mass., on Saturday for a doubleheader at MCLA starting at noon.

Notes: Secovich stole two more bases and now has 28 thefts on the season. He entered the day ranked third in all of Division III in stolen bases per game (1.18).