MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME BASEBALL

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Alumni Park, Bridgewater, Mass.

GAME #1 FINAL:          MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 8, BRIDGEWATER STATE 2

GAME #2 FINAL:          BRIDGEWATER STATE 5, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 3

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. --  Junior Bobby Rosano (North Reading, Mass.) and sophomore Everett Walsh (Marstons Mills, Mass.) combined for five hits and five RBI to back a complete-game effort on the mound from sophomore Kyle Kennedy (Woodbury, Conn.) that lifted Massachusetts Maritime to an 8-2 opening game victory over Bridgewater State and a split of a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader played Wednesday afternoon at Alumni Park.  The host Bears jumped out to an early lead in the nightcap and held on for a 5-3 second game triumph to gain a split of the twinbill.

The visiting Buccaneers (11-12, 3-5 MASCAC) grabbed a 1-0 second inning lead in the opener when senior Ben Maher’s (Plymouth, Mass.) suicide squeeze plated fellow senior Bob Lee (Braintree, Mass.) and Massachusetts Maritime broke things open in the fourth on another suicide squeeze bunt by freshman Tommy Walls (Hawthorne, N.J.), an RBI single by Walsh and two-run double from Rosano.  The visitors extended their lead with a three-run sixth inning rally on two-out run-scoring singles by Walsh and freshman Aidan Desrosiers (North Attleboro, Mass.) that sandwiched Rosano’s RBI double, and Kennedy took care of the rest for the Buccaneers, as he scattered eight hits and struck out four to improve to 3-0 on the season.  Desrosiers joined Walsh with a pair of hits as a part of a 10-hit attack for Massachusetts Maritime in the lid-lifter.

The host Bears (10-15, 4-4 MASCAC) plated their only runs of the opener in the bottom of the sixth on a groundout by sophomore Brandon Hoyle (Bridgewater, Mass.) and a run-scoring infield single off the bat of sophomore Colin Ryan (Quincy, Mass.).  Juniors Nicholas White (Bellingham, Mass.) and Ryan Manning (Plainville, Mass.) each had two hits in the opening setback for Bridgewater State, as senior Kenny Pennini (Millis, Mass.) allowed three earned runs and fanned four over the first six innings in falling to 1-3 on the spring.

The Bears took control of the nightcap in their first at-bat, as Manning’s RBI single, coupled with run-scoring fielder’s choices from White and senior Shane Varnadore (Brockton, Mass.), highlighted the rally, and Bridgewater State extended that margin to 5-0 with single runs in the third on an RBI single by sophomore Devin Sanders (Fall River, Mass.) and in the fourth on sophomore Jacob Souza’s (Acushnet, Mass.) sacrifice fly.  Massachusetts Maritime plated a pair in the sixth when senior Brendan O’Kane (Pocasset, Mass.) scored on a wild pitch and Rosano drove in his fourth run of the day with a groundout, and the Buccaneers sliced that deficit to two in the seventh on Walsh’s RBI single.  The visitors loaded the bases with one out but were unable to push the tying runs across the plate, as junior Adam Mullen (Fairhaven, Mass.) pitched out of the jam for the hosts to record his fourth save of the season.

Manning and junior Anthony Deleo (Athol, Mass.) each had three hits as part of a 13-hit attack in the nightcap victory for Bridgewater State, which also received two hits from Ryan and Varnadore in support of junior Chris Pessotti (Burlington, Mass.), who allowed four hits and two runs over the first six innings while fanning six to improve to 2-1 on the spring.  Walsh rapped out two of Massachusetts Maritime’s five hits in the nightcap setback, as junior T.J. Notarangelo (Foxboro, Mass.) fell to 0-3 on the mound while recording a pair of strikeouts for the Buccaneers.

Massachusetts Maritime heads to Salem, Mass. on Friday afternoon to take on Salem State in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader that begins at 2:00 p.m., while Bridgewater State travels to North Dartmouth, Mass. on Thursday afternoon to square off with UMass Dartmouth in a non-league outing beginning at 3:30 p.m.

(Photo courtesy of Jeremy Foote, Bridgewater State Sports Information)