Baseball Wraps Up Myrtle Beach Trip with Doubleheader Sweep of Penn State Berks

MYRTLE BEACH, Fla. – The Bridgewater State University baseball team wrapped up its trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with a doubleheader sweep of Penn State Berks on Thursday at the Ripken Experience Complex.

The Bears (5-3) won the opener in extra innings, 1-0, and completed the sweep with a 10-1 victory in game two.

Game One

In the opener, neither team scored over the first 8 ½ innings of the contest. In the bottom of the ninth, the Bears rallied. Junior Joey Molis (Cumberland, R.I.) led off the frame with a pinch-hit single, while sophomore third baseman Kyle Suraci (Clinton, Conn.) and sophomore left fielder Joe Frechette (Plymouth, Mass.) each followed with bunt hits to load the bases with nobody out. A fielder's choice grounder cut down Molis at the plate to keep the game scoreless momentarily. Sophomore centerfielder Shane Foley (East Bridgewater, Mass.) then smacked a base hit through the left side to plate Suraci with the game-winning run.

Senior righthander David Kerns (East Cambridge, Mass.) tossed seven shutout innings on the mound for the Bears but did not factor in the decision. Kerns scattered nine hits, walked two and fanned eight. Freshman lefthander Shane Handrahan (Raynham, Mass.) came on to start the eighth and tossed two scoreless innings to pick up his first collegiate win. Handrahan (1-0) retired all six batters he faced.

The two teams combined to leave 18 runners on base, nine apiece, and there were no extra base hits in the game.

Suraci went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases and a run scored to pace the Bears' eight-hit attack, while freshman second baseman Scott Emerson (Peabody, Mass.) was 2-for-4 at the plate. Foley reached safely three times in four plate appearances as he also walked and was hit by a pitch in addition to his game-winning hit.

Sophomore first baseman David Rudisill (Parkesburg, Pa.) went 2-for-3 to lead Penn State's nine-hit effort.

Game Two

Junior righthander Matthew Seavey (North Attleboro, Mass.) picked up his first win in a BSU uniform as he tossed six shutout innings to lead the Bears to a 1-0 victory in game two and a sweep of the twinbill. Seavey (1-1) gave up just two hits, walked two and struck out six. He retired the first 11 batters he faced before giving up a walk with two outs in the fourth.

Bridgewater banged out 13 hits in the contest, including four for extra bases. The Bears also stole four more bases and finished the eight-game trip with 27 thefts.

Sophomore right fielder Jay Wladkowski (Norwood, Mass.) went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a stolen base, two run and two RBI to lead the BSU offense in game two, while junior first baseman Dan Saraceno (Mansfield, Mass.) singled three times in four at bats and drove in a run.

Frechette and sophomore shortstop Kevin Lindsay (East Bridgewater, Mass.) also finished with multiple hits for the Bears. Frechette went 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Lindsay was 2-for-3 at the plate with a double, a stolen base and three runs scored.

Bridgewater broke open a scoreless game with a four-run third inning. Wladkowski put the Bears on top with an RBI double, while Molis connected for an triple in the frame and also scored on Saraceno's RBI single.

Emerson knocked in a run with an RBI single in the fourth and the Bears added another run in the inning thanks to a Penn State throwing error on a stolen base.

Frechette's RBI single in the fifth extended the lead to 7-0, and the Bears tacked on three more runs in the sixth. Penn State balked in the first run of the sixth while Wladkowski doubled home a run and Molis capped of the BSU scoring with an RBI ground out.

Penn State loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the seventh on three walks. Senior shortstop Joe Gramignano (Wantage, N.J.) spoiled the Bears' shutout bid with and RBI single.

Sophomore righthander Josh Miller (Allentown, Pa.) was tagged with the loss for the Nittany Lions as he allowed six runs (four earned) on six hits over four innings of work. Miller (0-2) also walked two and struck out six.

The Bears return north and will take on Eastern Nazarene College next Thursday at Libby Field in Weymouth, Massachusetts. First pitch is slated for 1:30 PM.