MCLA Concludes Season With Losses at Home

The MCLA Trailblazers concluded their 2011 campaign today with a pair of losses versus Bridgewater State. The Trailblazers finish the season at 8-22 and Bridgewater is now 20-14.

Game one looked as though the Trailblazers may upend the Bears as MCLA held a 1-0 lead heading into the top of the sixth. MCLA led 1-0 on senior Bobby Beauchesne first home run of the season in the bottom of the second.

MCLA starter Daniel Gaines was putting up zeros and Bear starter Jeff Puopolo was cruising as well except for the one mistake to Beauchesne. However, in the sixth John Garebedian led off for the Bears with a grounder to third. Paul Procopio booted it and then Beauchesne allowed the ball to get by. The two errors put Garebedian on second base. One out later a Gaines wild pitch, allowed Garebedian to take off for third. MCLA catcher Zach Theulen scrambled for the ball and his off-balance throw when into left-field allowing the tying run to score.

In the seventh shortstop Corey Batista hit his second homer of the year right around the foul pole in left giving the Bears the 2-1 advantage and the Trailblazers went quietly in the seventh. Gaines and Puopolo both went the distance.

Game two was scoreless through three when Joshua Ferreira led off with a single and David Pierce followed with a triple down the right-field line for the Bears.  Pierce later scored on an RBI groundout to shortstop to make it 2-0. Bridgewater would tack on three more in the fifth as Ferreira hit a two-run homer. The Bears did all their damage in the fifth after starter Sean Hermance had recorded two outs.

MCLA couldn't get much going with the bats and would muster only six hits all day in the two games. Bears starter Jim Balboni would go the distance picking up the game two victory and Hermance would take the defeat.

Joe Parillo had two hits in game two for the Trailblazers and Procopio had two hits on the afternoon as well.  Seven seniors played their final games for the Trailblazers; they were Procopio, Parillo, Hermance, Beauchesne, Mike Meaney, John Ripepi and Osiris Mendez.

The Bears will look forward to finding out their first round opponent in the MASCAC baseball tournament next. MCLA concludes their season at 8-22 and 1-13 in the MASCAC.