Baseball drops two to Bridgewater

Williamstown, MA- The visiting Bridgewater State Bears swept the MCLA Trailblazers this afternoon, cruising to an 8-1 win in the opener, before pulling away late in game two winning 16-11.  With the win, the Bears improve to 13-9-1 overall and 4-2 in MASCAC play.  MCLA dropped their sixth straight decision to fall to 2-16, and just 1-5 in conference play.

In the opener, Bridgewater scored three times in the opening frame, proving to be enough for starting pitcher Patrick Martin.  Tory Buck led off the game with a triple and following a walk to David Pierce, Sean Riley followed with a bullet that was misplayed for an error and an early 1-0 lead.  Keane Costa would follow with a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 edge and another MCLA error allowed Riley to score for the early edge.

After the Trailblazers scored in the bottom half of the first, BSU would tack on two more runs in the second as Riley blasted a double to deep right field to drive in Buck and Pierce, giving Bridgewater a 5-1 lead.  The Bears would add single runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to pad their lead. 

Martin would cruise to earn the win allowing just six hits and fanning eight hitters.  Tyler Benoit was saddled with the loss.  He tossed six innings of work and struck out five.

Game two was an offensive show as the two teams combined for 24 hits.  Bridgewater would open strong again, using two singles, two walks, and two MCLA errors for a quick 4-0 lead.  The Trailblazers would respond with four runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. 

Tyler Benoit provided a two run single in the frame, while Mike Mancivalano drew a bases loaded walk and Sean Coyle added an RBI infield single.

MCLA would grab a lead at 5-4 as Mike Sullivan lead off the inning with a single, stole second, and came around on an error.  The Bears would answer with a four unearned runs in the third to take control.  The Trailblazers committed two more miscues and Craig Stewart drove in a pair with a double which made the score 8-5 after three innings.

Another BSU tally in the top of the fourth made it 9-5 before MCLA rallied again.  They scored four times using a hit batter and three walks to spark the frame.  Rory Slattery belted a two run single in the inning.

The Trailblazers would then take the lead in the bottom of the fifth pushing two runs across.  Chase Preite keyed the rally with a run scoring triple.  The Bears would keep the pressure on though and take the lead for keeps in the sixth.

After a single and a walk, Riley forced Pierce at second base putting runners on the corners.  A walk would load the bases with one out.  John Mulready would drive in a run with a sacrifice fly before Jose Polanco drove in two runs with a bloop single into right field for a 12-11 lead.

The Bridgewater bullpen shut the door and the offense added four more runs in the seventh inning to finish off MCLA.

Riley had three hits and drove in six runs on the afternoon.  Tory Buck had three hits in the opener, while John Garabedian added three in the nightcap.  Polanco also had three safeties and drove in four runs.

Jake Roderick earned the win in relief of Kenny Pennini in game two.

For MCLA, Preite had three hits on the afternoon.  Benoit drove in four runs in the nightcap. 

Bridgewater will entertain Worcester State tomorrow, while MCLA will challenge Salem State.