Baseball Splits Doubleheader with Hilbert

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- The Bridgewater State University baseball team split a doubleheader with Hilbert College on Sunday in Vero Beach, Florida.

The Bears (1-3) won the first game, 10-7, while Hilbert (2-1) earned the split with a 9-5 victory in the nightcap.

In the opener, the Bears scored in each of the first five innings capped off by a five-run fifth.

Junior centerfielder Ryan Kelleher (Danvers, Mass.) went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, while junior third baseman Randy Frazier (Wareham, Mass.) doubled twice and singled in four at bats with two runs and an RBI. Senior shortstop Ryan Feeney (East Bridgewater, Mass.) went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs.

Feeney capped off the five-run fifth with a two-run single. Junior designated hitter Davide Tamarez  (Roxbury, Mass.) (1-for-3) added a two-run triple in the frame.

Senior pitcher Samuel Devine (Bourne, Mass.) earned the victory on the mound. Devine (1-0) worked 5 2/3 innings allowing six runs on eight hits and three walks with six strikeouts.

Sophomore pitcher Shawn Smeglin (Wakefield, Mass.) record his first save as got the last four outs. Smeglin retired the final batter of the sixth inning with two runners on and the Bears holding on to a 10-6 lead. 

In game two, Bridgewater jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Three straight singles by Kelleher, Junior second baseman Matt Levasseur (Milton, Mass.) and Feeney plated the first run, while Levasseur came home when Dominic Precopio reached on an error.

The Hawks tied it up in the bottom of the third on Ryan Bonafede's two-run single.

The Bears reclaimed the lead in the top of the fourth when Kelleher launched a solo home run to center field. The blast marked Kelleher's first in a BSU uniform.

Hilbert took advantage of a big fielding error to push across four runs in the home half of the fourth. Three of the runs were unearned due to the key miscue.

After Bridgewater cut the deficit to 6-4 with an unearned run in the fifth, the Hawks answered with three unearned runs in the bottom half of the inning. Another BSU error kept the inning alive and Bonafede provided the big hit with a two-run double to make it a 9-4 game.

A RBI double by BSU's junior left fielder Matt Cassese (Taunton, Mass.) in the top of the sixth capped off the scoring.

Kelleher went 4-for-5 with two runs and an RBI to highlight the Bears' 12-hit attack. Freshman right fielder Zack Churchey (West Wareham, Mass.) went 3-for-4 with a run scored, while Levasseur (2-for-5) and Cassese (2-for-2) finished with two hits apiece. Cassese reached safely in four plate appearances as he was also hit by a pitch twice.

Offensively for the Hawks, Bonafede finished 2-for-3 with four RBI while Kevin Moore went 3-for-4 with two runs scored.

Henry Bowers picked up the win on the hill for Hilbert. Bowers (1-0) allowed four runs (two earned) on nine hits. He hit four batters and fanned one.

Sophomore pitcher Kevin Bresciani (Hopedale, Mass.) suffered the loss for the Bears as he gave up five runs (three earned) on four hits and three walks with one strikeout.

After a day off on Monday, Bridgewater will take on University of Northwestern (Minn.) in a doubleheader starting at 11:00 AM.