Baseball Splits MASCAC Doubleheader with MCLA

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University baseball team split a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) doubleheader with MCLA on Tuesday afternoon at Alumni Park.

The visiting Trailblazers (10-12, 3-7 MASCAC) took the first game, 1-0, while the Bears (7-17, 4-8 MASCAC) earned the split with an 8-1 victory in the nightcap.

The Bears have split four out of six MASCAC twinbills this season (one remaining), and six of their eight conference setbacks have been by a margin of two runs or less including five one-run losses.

In game one, Todd Hunt out-dueled David Holmes on the mound to lead MCLA to the 1-0 win.

Hunt (3-0) hurled a complete game shutout, scattering six hits while walking three and striking out three.

Holmes (1-5) also pitched well in the complete game effort allowing just one unearned run on seven hits with no walks and six strikeouts.

Alon Willing scored the only run of the game scored on a passed ball in the top of the third inning. Willing had singled with two outs in the frame and advanced to third on a base hit by Mike Sullivan.

Bridgewater left seven runners on base, including every inning but the fourth, while MCLA stranded six.

Willing (2-for-3), Sullivan (2-for-4) and Tyler Benoit (2-for-3) finished with two hits apiece to highlight the Trailblazers' offense.

Ryan Manning was the only Bear with multiple hits as she went 2-for-3 at the plate.

In game two, Bridgewater pushed across four runs in the second inning and four more in the fifth to cruise to the 8-1 victory.

Adam Mullen was the beneficiary of the Bears' highest scoring output since an 11-7 ten-inning win over Penn State Behrend on March 12th in Vero Beach, Florida. Mullen (2-1) went the distance allowing one run on four hits and four walks with six strikeouts.

Bridgewater banged out 12 hits in the game led by two hits apiece from Travis Ritchie (2-for-4),Nick White (2-for-4), Kevin Sugermeyer (2-for-3), Drew Gentile (2-for-3) and Sean Brooks(2-for-3).

RBI singles by Gentile and Brooks and a two-run single off the bat of Jacob Souza gave the  Bears a 4-0 lead after just two innings of play.

Ritchie doubled to jump-start the four run fifth inning and later scored when Keaghan Austin-MacInnis reached on a fielder's choice grounder. Scott O'Brien singled and scored on a Manning sacrifice fly, while Brooks added a two-run single in the frame as he finished with three RBI in the contest.

Liam Nolan pitched the first four innings in the setback for the Trailblazers. Nolan (1-3) gave up for runs on seven hits with three strikeouts.

The Bears entertain regional rival Wheaton College on Thursday afternoon at 3:30, while the Trailblazers host a MASCAC doubleheader with Salem State University on Wednesday afternoon starting at two.