Baseball Sweeps Mass. Maritime in MASCAC Doubleheader

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. -- The visiting Bridgewater State University baseball team swept a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) doubleheader with Massachusetts Maritime Academy on Tuesday afternoon at Hendy Field.

The Bears, who swept the three-game season series with the Buccaneers, improve to 26-8 on the season and 12-3 in the MASCAC. Martiime falls to 17-15 overall and 7-8 in conference play with the two setbacks. Bridgewater is 79-23 versus Mass. Maritime since 1973.

Game One: Bridgewater State 6, Massachusetts Maritime 2

BSU lefthander Shane Handrahan (Raynham, Mass.) tossed a complete game four-hitter to lead Bridgewater State to the 6-2 victory in game one. Handrahan improved to 5-0 on the season as he allowed two runs over seven full innings with a walk and five strikeouts.

The Bears opened the scoring in the top of the third inning on a two-run single by Cam James (Ipswich, Mass.).

Brett Velzis (Cypress, Texas) homered in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut the Maritime deficit to 2-1.

Bridgewater rallied for four runs in the top of the sixth. The Bears loaded the bases with nobody out on a pair of walks sandwiched around a hit by pitch. Rookie Joshua Selander (Granby, Conn.) ripped a two-run single through the left side to make it a 4-1 game. A squeeze bunt by Kevin Lindsay (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and an RBI single by Scott Emerson (Peabody, Mass.) capped off the scoring in the frame.

A sacrifice fly off the bat of John Tropea (East Sandwich, Mass.) in the bottom of the sixth accounted for the final score of 6-2.

Emerson (2-4, 2SB, R, RBI) and James (2-4, 2RBI) paced the BSU offense with two hits apiece.

Velzis went 2-for-3 with the home run to lead the way for the Buccaneers.

Sam Huffman (Guilford, Conn.) suffered the loss on the mound for Maritime. Huffman (2-1) gave up six runs on five hits over five innings with five walks and a pair of strikeouts.

Game Two: Bridgewater State 9, Massachusetts Maritime 6

BSU rookie Nolan DeAndrade (Bridgewater, Mass.) homered twice, including a grand slam in a seven-run fifth inning, to lead the Bears to a 9-6 win in game two and a sweep of the twinbill.

Trailing 4-1 in the fifth, the Bears loaded the bases with one out on a Selander single, a dropped fly ball and a walk. DeAndrade then blasted a grand slam over the right field fence to put the visitors on top. Back-to-back singles by Lindsay and Emerson followed by a double steal put runners on second and third. Jay Wladkowski (Norwood, Mass.) followed with a two-run triple to the gap in left-centerfield and scored on an RBI double by James to extend the BSU lead to 8-4.

DeAndrade homered again in the top of the sixth, a solo shot over the centerfield fence, to make it a 9-4 game.

Consecutive RBI singles by Velzis and Aidan Henderson (Hanover, Mass.) in the home half of the sixth cut the Maritime deficit to 9-6.

Tyler Dasilva-Medeiros (Taunton, Mass.) worked around a lead-off walk in the bottom of the seventh to record his MASCAC-leading seventh save of the season and the 18^th of his career. Dasilva ended the game with back-to-back strikeouts.

Jack Moynihan (Taunton, Mass.) picked up his first win in a BSU uniform as he came on in relief of starter Trey Yesu (Monson, Mass.). Moynihan (1-0) allowed a run on three hits over two full innings with a walk and two strikeouts. Yesu gave up three runs (two earned) on six hits in three innings of work with a walk and a strikeout.

Chase Dwight (West Newbury, Mass.) was tagged with the loss for Maritime. Dwight (2-2) was touched for five runs (three earned) on seven hits over 4 1/3 innings with six walks and six strikeouts.

Emerson (2-5, SB, 2R), James (3-5, 2 2B, SB, RBI), DeAndrade (2-3, 2HR, BB, 2R, 5RBI) and Lindsay (3-4, SB, R) all finished with multiple hits for the Bears who banged out 12 hits in game two. Emerson's single in the top of the third inning marked the 100th hit of his career.

Tropea (2-4, 2B, BB, 3R), Velzis (3-3, BB, R, 2RBI)  and Michael Loguidice (Bridgewater, Mass.) notched multiple hits to pace the Buccaneers' 11-hit attack. Loguidice singled twice in four at bats and scored a run.

Up Next: The MASCAC schedule continues for both teams on Friday afternoon at 3:30. The Bears entertain Worcester State University while the Buccaneers travel to Salem State University.