Baseball Splits MASCAC Twinbill with Mass. Maritime

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Bridgewater State University and visiting Massachusetts Maritime Academy split a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) baseball doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon at Alumni Park.

The host Bears go to 10-15 on the season and 4-4 in the MASCAC, while Buccaneers are now 11-12 overall and 3-5 in conference play.

Game One: Mass. Maritime 8, Bridgewater State 2

Kyle Kennedy (Woodbury, Conn.) went the distance on the mound for Mass. Maritime in game one scattering eight hits.  Kennedy (3-0) gave up two runs, walked two and fanned four.

The Buccaneers opened the scoring in the second inning as Bob Lee (Braintree, Mass.) singled to open the frame, moved to second on a passed ball and to third on a failed pick-off attempt.  Lee would come around to score on a perfectly executed suicide squeeze bunt by Ben Maher (Plymouth, Mass.).

Mass. Maritime used a four-run fourth inning to open up a 5-0 lead.  A dropped pop-up opened the inning and the floodgates as all four runs were unearned.  Matt Pelletier (Bradford, Mass.), who reached on the error, would eventually come around to score on another suicide squeeze bunt off the bat of Tommy Walls (Hawthorne, N.J.).  Everett Walsh (Marstons Mills, Mass.) would later add an RBI single, while Bobby Rosano (North Reading, Mass.) capped off the scoring in the frame with a two-run double.

The Bucs tacked on three more runs in the sixth as Walsh and Aidan Desrosiers (North Attleboro, Mass.) both rapped RBI singles and Rosano added an RBI double.

The Bears broke up the shutout bid with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth.   Nicholas White (Bellingham, Mass.) singled to open the frame and advanced to third on Ryan Manning's (Plainville, Mass.) double.  White would score BSU's first run of the game on an infield ground out.  One batter later, Manning crossed the plate on Colin Ryan's (Quincy, Mass.) infield single.

Rosano paced Mass. Maritime's ten-hit attack as he went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a run and an RBI.  Walsh (2-for-4) and Desrosiers (2-for-4) also finished with multiple hits for the Buccaneers.

White and Manning each went 2-for-4 at the plate to highlight the BSU offense.

Kenny Pennini (Millis, Mass.) took the loss on the hill for the Bears.  Pennini (1-3) worked the first six innings giving up eight runs on nine hits with a walk and four strikeouts.  Only three of the eight runs were earned.

Game Two: Bridgewater State 5, Mass. Maritime 3

The Bears withstood a late rally to earn a split of the twinbill with a 5-3 victory in the nightcap.

Chris Pessotti (Burlington, Mass.) picked up his second straight win in as many starts as he gave up just two runs over six innings.  Pessotti (2-1) scattered four hits, did not issue walk and fanned six.

Bridgewater pushed across three runs in the first to jump out to the early lead. With one out, Ryan doubled down the left field line.  White followed with a walk and Manning poked an RBI single between third and short to make it 1-0.  Anthony Deleo (Athol, Mass.) loaded the bases with a single to right, and White scored the second run of the frame on a fielder's choice ground out.  One batter later, Manning would beat a throw to the plate on a grounder to third to give the Bears the 3-0 lead.

The Bears tacked on a run in the third on an RBI single off the bat of Devin Sanders (Fall River, Mass.). Jacob Souza (Acushnet, Mass.), who scored the run, opened the frame with a single, moved who second on Shane Varnadore's (Brockton, Mass.) infield hit and to third on a ground out.

Back-to-back singles by Manning and Deleo in the fourth followed by a Souza sacrifice fly increased the Bears' advantage to 5-0.

Mass. Maritime rallied for a pair of runs in the sixth to cut the deficit to 5-2.  Brendan O'Kane (Pocasset, Mass.) singled and Walsh followed with a double to put runners on second and third with nobody out. O'Kane would score on a wild pitch while Walsh crossed the plate on a ground out.

The Buccaneers took advantage of two errors in the seventh to make it a 5-3 game on Walsh's RBI single.  BSU closer Adam Mullen (Fairhaven, Mass.), however, worked out of a bases loaded, one-out jam with a strikeout and a ground out to secure the win for the Bears.

Mullen picked up his MASCAC leading fourth save of the season.

Manning (3-for-4) and Deleo (3-for-4) notched three hits apiece to lead the Bears' 13-hit attack in game two. Ryan and Varnadore also finished with multiple hits as they both went 2-for-4.  Bridgewater stranded 11 runners on base in the nightcap.

T.J. Notarangelo (Foxboro, Mass.) allowed five runs on ten hits over 3 1/3 innings in the loss for Mass. Maritime.  Notarangelo (0-3) walked two and fanned two.  Alex Rozak (Plymouth, Mass.) worked 2 1/3 innings of relief giving up three hits and walk with one strike out.

Walsh, who went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI, was the only Buccaneer with multiple hits in game two.

The MASCAC schedule resumes for both teams on Friday afternoon.  The Bears host a twinbill with Worcester State University at one, while the Buccaneers travel to Salem State University to take on the Vikings in a doubleheader starting at two.  Bridgewater is also in action tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon as the Bears head to UMass Dartmouth for a 3:30 non-conference game with the Corsairs.