Baseball Falls Twice To Bears In Conference Action

Bridgewater, MA: The Fitchburg State baseball team dropped a pair of Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) contests to Bears of Bridgewater State this afternoon from Alumni Park as the Falcons fell 10-3 in the opener before edged 10-7 in the nightcap.

THE BASICS:

- Date: 4/14/24

- Score: Fitchburg State 3, Bridgewater State 10 (GM1)
- Score: Fitchburg State 7, Bridgewater State 10 (GM2)

- Records: Fitchburg State (6-20, 1-8 MASCAC), Bridgewater State (12-10, 6-3 MASCAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED: Game One

-  Bridgewater State opened the scoring in the top of the first as graduate student Steven Simon (Hanover, MA) singled through the left side to score senior Kevin Lindsay (E. Bridgewater, MA) before graduate student Matthew Pigeon (Canton, MA) singled to right field, scoring sophomore Ryan Flaherty (Duxbury, MA) and Simon for the 3-0 edge.

- The Bears upped the lead to 5-0 in the top of the fourth with senior Joe Frechette (Plymouth, MA) drawing a walk and scoring on a two-run home run to left field off the bat of junior DJ Prampin (Worcester, MA).

- Fitchburg State cut the deficit to 5-3 in the bottom of the fourth when junior Cole DuHaime (Warminster, PA) singled up the middle to score sophomore Adam Koza (Windham, NH) before senior Maxwell Kelly (E. Bridgewater, MA) and junior Jake Santulli  (Wolcott, CT) notched RBI singles that scored freshman Luke Sterner (Stafford, VA) and DuHaime.

- Bridgewater State pushed the lead to 6-3 in the top of the fifth as Simon launched a solo shot to left field. The Bears secured the victory in the top half of the sixth on sacrifice flies from Flaherty and junior Scott Emerson (Peabody, MA), resulting in the 10-3 final.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

-  Sterner led the way for the Falcons, going 2-for-2 with a double and one run scored

-  Senior Matthew Kelly (E. Bridgewater, MA) went 2-for-3 for the Green and Gold

-  Freshman Joseph Stawski (Niantic, CT) allowed six runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and three walks in five innings of work

-  For the Bears, Simon finished 2-for-3 with a home run, three runs scored and two RBI

-  Pigeon chipped in with two hits and three RBI

-  Sophomore Trey Yesu (Monson, MA) earned the win for Bridgewater State, giving up three runs on nine hits as well as five K's and one walk over six innings pitched.

HOW IT HAPPENED: Game Two

-  Bridgewater State opened the scoring in the top of the third as Flaherty doubled to center field, scoring Emerson before Simon laced an RBI double down the leftfield line to bring in Flaherty, while senior Jay Wlackowski (Norwood, MA) added a sacrifice fly to left that plated Simon for the 3-0 advantage.  

- Fitchburg State cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the third when junior Jacob Hurrell (Haverhill, MA) grounded out to drive in Kelly, while Sterner followed with an RBI single to right center to drive home Kelly.

- The Bears upped the lead to 4-2 in the top half of the fourth with Lindsay registering an RBI single up the middle to score Prampin. The Falcons answered back in their half of the fourth with Koza connecting on a solo shot to left field to make the score 4-3.

- The Green and Gold knotted the score at 4-4 in the bottom of the sixth with Koza ripping am RBI double to right center to drive in Sterner. Bridgewater State regained the lead in the top of the seventh when Flaherty ripped a two-run double, while Wladkoski added an RBI single to left field to extend the margin to 10-4. Fitchburg State answered in the bottom of the seventh when Hurrell ripped a bases clearing double to left center to score senior Matthew Kelly (E. Bridgewater, MA) Santulli and Mx Kelly, resulting in the 10-7, game two final.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

-  This afternoon's contest marked the 102nd  meeting between Fitchburg State and Bridgewater State on the baseball diamond with the Falcons 31-71 all-time when taking on the Bears

-  Hurrell paced the Falcons, hitting 1-for-4 with a double and four RBI

-  Koza finished 2-for-3 with a home run, one double, one run score and RBI for the Green and Gold

-  Freshman Shane Daly (Rockland, MA) suffered the setback for Fitchburg State, giving up seven runs on eight hits with seven K's and three walks over six innings pitched

-  For the Bears, Flaherty finished 2-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored and three RBI

-  Wladkowsi chipped in with a double, one run scored and two RBI

-  Junior Nick Reiser (Nahant, MA) picked up the win for Bridgewater State, yielding four runs on six hits as well as five strikeouts and one walk in six innings pitched

UP NEXT:n

- Fitchburg State returns to action on Monday when they host the Lancers of Worcester State for a MASCAC tilt, starting at 2;00PM.

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