Baseball Splits MASCAC Twinbill with Worcester State

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University baseball team continued a trend of scoring in double figures while salvaging a doubleheader split Sunday afternoon.

After losing the opener to Worcester State University, 2-1, in 10 innings at Alumni Park, the Bears defeated the Lancers, 11-3, getting a pair of three-run home runs.

BSU has now scored at least 10 runs in six of the last nine games and has done so 12 times this season.

The Bears (15-13) are 8-6 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference and host the Massachusetts Maritime Academy on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. BSU lost a doubleheader to the Buccaneers last week.

The Lancers (6-20) are 5-8 in the MASCAC and will host Fitchburg State University Tuesday at 2 p.m. in a doubleheader. Worcester State broke a seven-game losing streak by winning the opener.

Ben Smith (Bourne, Mass.) limited BSU to six hits and struck out 12 in his 10-inning, complete game performance in the opener.

DJ Prampin (Worcester, Mass.) and Jay Wladkowski (Norwood, Mass.) hit three-run homers in the third and fifth innings, respectively, in the game two victory for the Bears.

Game Two: Bridgewater State 11, Worcester State 3

Wladkowski went 2-for-4 with five RBI, the second time he's driven in five runs in the last four games.

Mathew Pigeon (Canton, Mass.) went 3-for-3 for BSU, which had 11 hits.

Winning pitcher Shane Handrahan (Raynham, Mass.) worked the first five innings, giving up three runs and seven hits with four strikeouts. Jack Moynihan (Taunton, Mass.) gave up two hits in the final two innings.

The Lancers took a 1-0 lead in the first when Tyler Smith (Leominster, Mass.) singled, went to second on a wild pitch, to third on a flyout and scored on a passed ball.

The Bears tied it in the bottom of the inning as Scott Emerson (Peabody, Mass.) singled, was sacrificed to second by Kevin Lindsay (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and scored on a two-out error.

Worcester State moved in front, 3-1, in the third on an RBI double to center by Joe Auger (Lowell, Mass.) and an RBI single to center by Michael Cooper (Fitchburg, Mass.).

But BSU took the lead for good in the bottom of the third with five runs.

Lindsay singled to left, went to second on a single by Steven Simon (Hanover, Mass.) and they moved up on a wild pitch. They both scored on a single up the middle by Wladkowski.

Pigeon drew a walk before Prampin hit his second homer of the season to center for a 6-3 lead.

The Bears added four more in the fifth with Wladkowski hitting his team-leading fourth homer to right-center after a single by Ryan Flaherty (Duxbury, Mass.) and a walk by Simon.

Pigeon then singled up the middle, stole second and went to third on a balk before scoring on an error.

The game's final run in the sixth was scored when Joe Frechette (Plymouth, Mass.) doubled to left, scoring Pigeon, who had singled to left.

Game One: Worcester State 2, Bridgewater State 1 (10)

The Lancers prevailed by scoring an unearned run with two outs in the third extra inning.

After the first two hitters were retired, Anthony Iamarone (Providence, R.I.) reached on an infield error, went to second on a single to left by Aaron Siegal (Abington, Mass.) and to third on an infield hit by Nathan Thurber (Framingham, Mass.).

A throwing error allowed Iamarone to score the deciding run.

BSU did not have a runner on base in the ninth or 10th innings. The Bears had two on in the seventh and eighth but were unable to score.

The Bears took a 1-0 lead in the first when Emerson led with a triple to left and scored on a groundout by Lindsay.

That was the only scoring done by BSU against Smith, who walked only two.

Worcester State tied the game in the sixth on a two-out RBI single up the middle by Thurber, bringing in Tyler Smith, who had reached on an error before advancing on a sacrifice bunt and a groundout.

Emerson had three of the Bears' six hits with Lindsay, Simon and Cam James (Ipswich, Mass.) getting singles. Thurber led the Lancers with two hits.

Nick Reiser (Nahant, Mass.) took the loss, allowing two hits with three strikeouts in 3 1-3 innings. Starter Trey Yesu (Monson, Mass.) gave up a run and five hits with four strikeouts in 6 2-3 innings.

Notes: Lindsay extended his hitting streak to 11 games...Emerson has hit safely in nine straight games while Pigeon has a seven-game hitting streak.