Baseball Falls to Eastern Connecticut, 9-3

MANSFIELD, Conn. -- The Bridgewater State University baseball team dropped a 9-3 decision to host Eastern Connecticut State University on Wednesday afternoon at the Mansfield Outdoor Complex.

Senior righty Pat Barnett (Windsor, Conn.) won his third game in five days, throwing a perfect game through the first six innings in his first start of the year.

Making just the second start of his career, Barnett (3-0) faced the minimum 18 batters through the first six innings and the Warriors led 6-0 before Bridgewater (8-11) broke the spell when the first three batters of the seventh reached safely with singles. Freshman rightfielder Billy Mitchell (Walpole, Mass.) stroked a 1-1 pitch cleanly up the middle leading off the seventh for the Bears' first hit.

Barnett was charged with one run and struck out eight as he left the game after seven innings with a 8-0 lead.

All eight of Bridgewater's hits came in its final three at-bats – four in the ninth when it scored twice.

Eastern (13-4) collected 11 hits off five Bridgewater pitchers, scoring single runs in three separate innings before breaking the game open with three in the sixth and two more in the seventh to go up 8-1.

Batting eighth in the order, sophomore catcher Tim Budd (Cheshire, Conn.) led the Warriors with three hits.  Seniors Brendan Lynch (Wethersfield, Conn.) and Gavin Lavallee (New Milford, Conn.) and sophomore Andrew Scully (Stratford, Conn.) added two hits each. Budd drove in the first run of the game with a two-out double after an infield error in the second, and the first-year transfer drove in a run and scored a run in the three-run sixth. Lavallee drove in two runs with his first home run of the year in the sixth and a sacrifice fly in the seventh.

Batting third in the order, junior first baseman Nicholas White (Bellingham, Mass.) matched Mitchell with two hits for the Bears.

Eastern hosts Wheaton College (MA) Thursday at 4 p.m. The Lyons are ranked second in New England, No. 23 nationally.  The Bears entertain Johnson & Wales University on Thursday at 3:30.