Baseball Opens 2011 Campaign with 11-6 Win

FORT PIERCE, Fla. -- The Bridgewater State University baseball team opened the 2011 season with a rain-shortened 11-6 win over Ursinus College on Saturday night in Fort Piece, Florida.

Senior right-hander Jeff Puopolo (Brockton, Mass.) earned the win on the mound for the Bears as he gave up three unearned runs in five innings of work.  Puopolo (1-0) gave up just two hits, walked five and struck out 12.

Bridgewater (1-0) banged out 15 hits with Josh Ferreira (Fall River, Mass.), Tyler Dennis (Stoughton, Mass.) and Ian Williams (Taunton, Mass.) leading the parade with three hits apiece. 

Ferreira went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two runs batted in.  He doubled and scored the Bears' first run of the game on Dennis' RBI single in the third.  Dennis also finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three driven in, while Williams went 3-for-5 with a run and two RBI.

Bridgewater would take control of the game with a six-run fifth inning.   The Bears would plate four more runs in the seventh.

In the fifth, John Garabedian (Mansfield, Mass.) singled to lead things off and moved to second on a Ferreira base hit.  Dennis would plate Garabedian with an RBI double.  Matt Greenberg (Norwell, Mass.) followed with a sacrifice fly scoring Ferreira and Williams drove in Dennis with a run-scoring single. Greenberg finished 1-for-2 on the day with a double and two walks.

Dave Billotte (Norton, Mass.) kept the rally going with another base hit and David Pierce (East Bridgewater, Mass.) knocked in the Bears' fourth run of the inning with an RBI single.  After a walk to Keane Costa (Fairhaven, Mass.) loaded the bases, Jose Polanco (Lawrence, Mass.) capped off the frame with a two-run base knock.

Bridgewater is back in action on Sunday afternoon when the Bears take on Muhlenberg College in a twinbill starting at noon in Vero Beach, Florida.