Baseball Sweeps MCLA, 8-1 and 16-11

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- 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 junior starting pitcher Patrick Martin (Rockland, Mass).

Senior Tory Buck (Shelburne Falls, Mass) led off the game with a triple and following a walk to Senior David Pierce (E. Bridgewater, Mass). Senior Sean Riley (Fairhaven, Mass) followed with a bullet that was misplayed for an error and an early 1-0 lead. 

Senior Keane Costa (Fairhaven, Mass) chipped in with a sacrifice fly and another MCLA error allowed Riley to score for the early 3-0 margin.

After the Trailblazers scored in the bottom half of the first, BSU tacked 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 added 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. Sophomore Tyler Benoit (N. Adams, Mass) 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 State opened strong again, using two singles, two walks, and a pair of MCLA errors for a quick 4-0 lead.  The Trailblazers responded with four runs of their own in the bottom of the inning.

Tyler Benoit provided a two run single in the frame, while sophomore Mike Mancivalano (Pittsfield, Mass) drew a bases loaded walk and junior Sean Coyle (Middleboro, Mass) added an RBI infield single.

MCLA grabbed the edge at 5-4 as sophomore Mike Sullivan (Wareham, Mass) lead off the inning with a single, stole second and came around on an error. 

The Bears answered with a four unearned runs in the third to take control. The Trailblazers committed two more miscues and senior Craig Stewart (Brockton, Mass) 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 free passes to spark the frame. Sophomore Rory Slattery (Pitsfield, Mass) belted a two-run single in the inning.

The Trailblazers then took the 11-9 lead in the bottom of the fifth by pushing two runs across. Sophomore Chase Preite (N. Adams, Mass) keyed the rally with a run scoring triple. 

The Bears kept the pressure on though and take the 12-11 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 loaded the bases with one out.  Freshman John Mulready (Rockland, Mass) drove in a run with a sacrifice fly before senior Jose Polanco (Lawrence, Mass) drove in two runs with a bloop single into right field.

The Bridgewater bullpen shut the door with two scoreless frames 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.  Buck had three hits in the opener, while Garabedian added a trio in the nightcap.  Polanco also had three safeties and drove in four runs.

Senior Jake Roderick (Provincetown, Mass) earned the win in relief to improve his record to 2-0.

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

Bridgewater State entertains Worcester State tomorrow while MCLA will challenge Salem State at home. Both contests are slated for noontime starts.