MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME BASEBALL

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Alumni Park, Bridgewater, Mass.

GAME #1 FINAL:          BRIDGEWATER STATE 8, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 5

GAME #2 FINAL:          MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 6, BRIDGEWATER STATE 3

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. --  Senior Kevin Kwedor (Marshfield, Mass.) scattered four hits and struck out a pair over six innings of work to lead Massachusetts Maritime to a 6-3 nightcap victory over Bridgewater State and a split of a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader Wednesday afternoon at Alumni Park.  The host Bears plated three runs in the bottom of the sixth of the opener to break a late inning tie and post an 8-5 triumph.

The visiting Buccaneers (18-12, 10-2 MASCAC) grabbed a 1-0 first inning lead in the second contest of sophomore Logan Sullo’s (Acushnet, Mass.) solo homer to left (his fifth of the season), and Massachusetts Maritime extended that advantage to 4-0 in the fourth on an RBI single by senior Everett Walsh (Marstons Mills, Mass.) and a sacrifice fly off the bat of sophomore Connor Kennedy (West Barnstable, Mass.) that sandwiched a wild pitch.  The host Bears (14-16, 5-7 MASCAC) got a run back in the fifth on senior Travis Ritchie’s (Taunton, Mass.) RBI single, and the Buccaneers closed out their scoring in the seventh on a run-scoring single by freshman Riley Fusaro (Nantucket, Mass.) that was followed by an RBI double off the bat of senior Greg Downs (Marshfield, Mass.).  Bridgewater State accounted for the final margin with two runs in its final at-bat on a passed ball and a run-scoring double by sophomore Ryan Kelleher (Danvers, Mass.), as the hosts qualified for the upcoming MASCAC playoffs with the twinbill split.

Fusaro and freshman Kevin Troy (Braintree, Mass.) each rapped out two of Massachusetts Maritime’s eight nightcap hits in support of Kwedor, who improved to 4-1 overall on the season.  Kelleher collected of the Bears’ six hits in the second outing, as junior Thomas Protentis (Lakeville, Mass.) allowed four hits and struck out four over three innings of action in falling to 2-4 on the spring.

The Buccaneers jumped out to a 2-0 first inning lead in the opener on an RBI single by junior Jake Petruzzelli (Abington, Mass.) and an error, but Bridgewater State got a run back in the bottom of the frame on a double play grounder and used a four-run fourth inning rally highlighted by run-scoring singles off the bat of Kelleher, junior Anthony Licciardello (Haverhill, Mass.) and sophomore Randy Frazier (Wareham, Mass.) to take a 5-2 advantage.  Massachusetts Maritime pulled to within a run in the fifth on Petruzzelli’s fielder’s choice and Troy’s RBI double, and the visitors evened matters in the sixth when Walsh singled and scored on Kennedy’s triple.  The hosts’ plated three runs with two out and no one on base in the bottom of the inning, however, as a single, error and hit batsman loaded the bases for senior Scott O’Brien (East Bridgewater, Mass.), who delivered a two-run single that was followed by an error to account for the deciding tallies.

O’Brien accounted for three of Bridgewater State’s seven hits in the lid-lifter, as sophomore Connor Birch (Bellingham, Mass.) allowed three earned runs and struck out five to pick up his first win of the season in going the distance on the mound for the Bears.  Troy rapped out two of Massachusetts Maritime’s seven hits in the opener, as sophomore Justin Nichols (Adams, Mass.) suffered the setback in allowing the three unearned runs in the sixth after relieving freshman Brian Kwedor (Marshfield, Mass.), who allowed an earned run over the first four frames for the Buccaneers.

The split leaves Massachusetts Maritime a game back in the loss column for first place in the MASCAC standings, as the Buccaneers (10-2) have a home league doubleheader with Westfield State on Saturday afternoon.  Salem State (9-1) enters the weekend atop the conference standings, but the Vikings have a make-up home twinbill with Framingham State on Thursday before heading to Fitchburg State for their final MASCAC match-ups of the regular season on Saturday.  The six-team field for the upcoming conference tournament is set with Bridgewater State’s opening game win, as the Buccaneers and Bears will be joined by Salem State, Fitchburg State, Westfield State and Framingham State.

Massachusetts Maritime hosts Wentworth in a non-league outing on Thursday afternoon at Commodore Hendy Field beginning at 3:30 p.m., while Bridgewater State heads to Norton, Mass. on Thursday afternoon to take on Wheaton in a non-league contest that also begins at 3:30 p.m.