Riley Leads Baseball to Dramatic 13-12 11-Inning Win over Curry

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Sean Riley (Fairhaven, Mass.) went 5-for-6 with three doubles, including his school record-setting 18th of the season, to lead the Bridgewater State University baseball team to a dramatic 13-12 non-conference win over visiting Curry College in 11 innings on Tuesday afternoon at Alumni Park.

Riley scored five runs in the games including the game-winner in the 11th.  With one on and nobody out in the frame, Riley launched his record-breaking double to deep right field to put runners on second and third. After an intentional walk loaded the bases, Curry nearly got out of the jam by inducing a fielder's choice groundout followed by a big strikeout.  Keane Costa (Fairhaven, Mass.), however, provided the walk-off heroics for the Bears as he lined a single just off the glove of the diving right fielder to plate Riley with the winning run.

The Bears, winners of six in a row, improve to 15-11 on the season.  The Colonels fall to 8-14 overall.

Bridgewater had coughed up a 12-6 lead after seven innings as Curry pushed across six runs in the top of the eighth.  Sam Barron's (Florence, Mass.) two-run double and Matt Drew's (Waltham, Mass.) suicide squeeze bunt which resulted in two runs scoring were the key plays in the inning.

There were 28 hits, 14 walks, eight hit batsmen and seven errors in the game which took three hours and 45 minutes to play.  The Bears scored at least one run in six of the first seven innings including a three-spot in the second and a four-run fourth.

Bryant Warner (Harwich, Mass.) picked up the win in relief for BSU as he worked the final four innings.  Warner (2-1) allowed one run on one hit and a walk.  He struck out three and hit two batters.

Kenny Pennini (Millis, Mass.) did not figure in the decision despite leaving the game with a 12-7 lead.  Pennini was charged with eight runs (five earned) on six hits.  He walked five, struck out seven and hit three batters.

Joe Carrig (Irvine, Calif.) was saddled with the loss, although he was arguably the Colonels most effective pitcher of the afternoon.  Carrig (0-4) allowed a run on four hits and a walk in 3 1/3 innings of relief.

Thomas Faucett (Plymouth, Mass.) went just 3 1/3 innings in his third start of the season.  Faucett was touched for eight runs on nine hits and three walks.

The Bears banged out 20 hits in the game led by Riley's five-hit performance.  Costa finished 3-for-6 with a run and two RBI, while David Piece (East Bridgewater, Mass.) went 3-for-6 with a double and three runs batted in.  Tory Buck (Shelburne Falls, Mass.) had two hits in four at bats with a triple and three runs scored.  Trevor Lawson (Easton, Mass.) and John Garabedian (Mansfield, Mass.) added two hits apiece.

Drew finished 3-for-5 at the plate for the Colonels as he drove in four runs and scored one. Shayne McDonald (Cambridge, Mass.) went 2-for-6 with two runs as he was the only other Curry batsmen to registered multiple hits.  Carlos Cornejo (Lake Forest, Calif.) and Matt Rodriguez (Quincy, Mass.) combined to score five runs out of the number two and three spots in the lineup.  Cornejo and Rodriguez worked a pair of walks apiece while they each got plunked once.

Notes: Riley surpassed the previous BSU single-season mark of 17 doubles set by Joe Florio in 1992 and equaled by Chad Cambra in 2003 and Steve Smith in 2008.