MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME BASEBALL

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Nitchman Field, New London, Conn.

FINAL:              MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 5, COAST GUARD 1

NEW LONDON, Conn. --  Sophomore Connor Kennedy (West Barnstable, Mass.) rapped out three hits, while senior Kevin Kwedor (Marshfield, Mass.) allowed two hits and struck out five over six innings of work to lead Massachusetts Maritime to a 5-1 non-league college baseball victory over Coast Guard Wednesday afternoon at Nitchman Field.

The visiting Buccaneers (8-8) overcame a 1-0 deficit to take the lead for good in the top of the sixth, as Kennedy singled, advanced to second on a sacrifice and tied the contest of an RBI single off the bat of senior Everett Walsh (Marstons Mills, Mass.), who then scored the eventual winning run on sophomore Logan Sullo’s (Acushnet, Mass.) double to left.  Massachusetts Maritime extended that margin to 4-1 in the seventh when junior Jake Petruzzelli (Abington, Mass.) walked, advanced on an error and scored on an RBI single through the right side by Kennedy, who plated the second run of the frame on freshman Paul Sances’s (Middleboro, Mass.) ensuing double.  The visitors accounted for the final score with an insurance tally in the ninth on Kennedy’s third hit of the afternoon, a double that scored fellow sophomore Nathan Anderson (East Longmeadow, Mass.), and Kwedor combined with three relievers to hold the host Bears (8-12) to just four hits on the day while striking out nine overall.

Anderson scored a pair of runs in the triumph for the Buccaneers, who have won two straight over Coast Guard for the first time since the 2008-09 seasons.  Kwedor improved to 2-1 overall on the mound for Massachusetts Maritime, which received two strikeouts each in relief from senior Alex Rozak (Plymouth, Mass.) and junior Daniel Avery (Milford, Mass.).  The Bears plated an unearned run in the fifth to break the scoreless deadlock when sophomore Alex Murdoch (San Ramon, Calif.) reached on an error and scored on an RBI single off the bat of senior Corey Sonnega (Shoreline, Wash.), but the hosts had only two base runners in the final four frames of action.  Freshman Walter Harris (La Crescenta, Calif.) allowed four hits and a pair of runs while striking out five over six innings of work on the mound for Coast Guard, as he fell to 2-2 overall with the setback.

Massachusetts Maritime heads to Fitchburg, Mass. on Saturday afternoon to open Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference play against Fitchburg State in a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m., while Coast Guard entertains Springfield in a New England Women’s & Men’s Athletic Conference contest on Friday afternoon at Nitchman Field that begins at 3:30 p.m.