BUZZARDS BAY, Mass -- The Buccaneers baseball team opened their season on Friday with a non-conference doubleheader against Colby-Sawyer at Hendy Field. In 14 innings the teams combined for 38 runs with game one finishing 15-10 and game two 7-6 with the Chargers taking the victory in both games. In the first game, senior captain AJ Pietrafesa hit his first-career home run over the right field fence. 

Game One

The Basics

Final: Chargers 15, Buccaneers 10

Records: Colby-Sawyer (1-0)

               Maritime (0-1)

On the Mound

Colby-Sawyer: Will Carpenter (W, 1-0): 3 IP | 6 H | 5 R | 5 ER | 1 BB | 1 SO

                        Justin Powers (Sv, 1): 3 IP | 6 H | 4 R | 4 ER | 1 BB | 1 K

Maritime: Justin Brown (L, 0-1): 2 IP | 4 H | 8 R | 7 ER | 5 BB | 1 K

Inside The Numbers

Maritime

• Eight of Nine players in the Maritime lineup recorded a hit in the loss. AJ Pietrafesa, Michael Estrada, and Evan Vieira each had two.
• Pietrafesa drove in three runs for the Bucs in the loss. Six other Buccaneers drove in one each.
• Brett Velzis, and Pietrafesa each scored twice. Six other Buccaneers came across the plate one time apiece.
• Estrada recorded two doubles, Thos Williams, Jake Quillen, Velzis, Pietrafesa, and Vieira each had one double.
• Pietrafesa had the only Bucs home run in the game.
• Aidan Weir and Velzis were each credited with a stolen base in the game.

Colby-Sawyer

• Five different players recorded two-hit games for the Chargers in the win.
• Cam Carignan and Janai Cruz both drove in three runs in the game. Cooper O'Brien and Jared Schmitt each drove in two.
• O'Brien scored three times, Carignan, Dylan Watson, Evan Dennis, and Schmitt all scored twice.
• Carignan hit two doubles in the game with O'Brien and Cruz each hitting one.
• O'Brien hit the only home run of the game for CSC. 
• Watson stole two bags and Carignan, Cruz, and Finn Maclennan each stole one.

How It Happened

Brown and the Bucs kept the Chargers off the board in the top of the first and plated the first run of the day in the bottom of the first on a wild pitch that scored Velzis from third. The Buccaneers led 1-0 after one inning.

In the second, everything changed as Maritime gave up eight runs to Colby-Sawyer, the first of which, to tie the game, came on a bases loaded walk. Following the first run, Schmitt drove in two with a single, Carignana doubled to bring in two, another came in on a Bucs miscue and O'Brien capped off the inning with a two-run home run to right field. The Chargers held an 8-1 lead heading to the bottom of the second. In the bottom of the second, Michael Logiudice hit a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Quillen from third to make the score 8-2 after two innings.

The top of the third, went similarly to the top of the second. The Chargers bats stayed hot and they plated seven more runs, three of which came on a Cruz bases loaded double that brought in three runs to make the score 15-2. In the bottom of the third, Maritime scored two on a Costa Beechin single to bring in Estrada and on a Vieira double that brought in Beechin. The Bucs trailed by 11 after three, 15-4.

The Buccaneers bullpen settled the Chargers down the rest of the game as they failed to score another run and the Buccaneers offense did their best to get back in the game. In the fourth, Pietrafesa hit his first home run over the right field fence to bring in two runs and get the Bucs within nine, 15-6.

After a scoreless fifth, Maritime plated three in the sixth with back-to-back-to-back doubles from Velzis, Pietrafesa, and Estrada which made the score 15-9. 

The Bucs scored again in the bottom of the seventh but their comeback attempt was thwarted by Colby-Sawyer and the game finished 15-10 in favor of the Chargers.

Game Two

The Basics

Final: Chargers 7, Buccaneers 6

Records: Colby-Sawyer (2-0)

               Maritime (0-2)

On The Mound

Colby-Sawyer: Jack Mullen: 3 IP | 3 H | 1 R | 1 ER | 4 BB | 5 K

                        Erik Rohs (W, 1-0): 0.1 IP | 0 H | 0 R | 0 BB | 0 K

                        Dylan Watson (Sv, 1): 1 IP | 1 H | 0 R | 0 BB | 0 K

Maritime: Hunter Dean: 4 IP | 9 H | 6 R | 6 ER | 2 BB | 9 K

                Brenden Baiardi (L, 0-1): 1 IP | 0 H | 1 R | 1 ER | 3 BB | 2 K

Inside The Numbers

Maritime

• AJ Pietrafesa, Brett Velzis, and Costa Beechin all had two-hit games in game two.
• Pietrafesa drove in two runs. Velzis, Max Hefner, and Jake Quillen all drove in one.
• Evan Vieira scored twice in the loss. Velzis, Pietrafesa, Tucker Leslie, and Aidan Weir all came in to score once.

Colby-Sawyer

• Nick Johnson led the way for the Chargers with three hits. Evan Dennis, Devin Montalvo, and Noah Staffier each had multi-hit games with two.
• Montalvo drove in two runs in the ame. Five other Chargers brought in a run in the win.
• Johnson scored twice with five different players coming in to score once.
• Dennis and Montalvo each doubled and O'Brien hit his second home run of the day in the game.
• Staffier was credited with two stolen bases, Watson with one.

How It Happened

In a much lower scoring affair in game two, the Chargers started things off immediately with two runs in the top of the first. Maritime answered in the bottom of the frame on a dropped third strike wild pitch that brought in Vieira. CSC led 2-1 after one.

The second inning was scoreless for both sides and in the top of the third, Colby-Sawyer extended the lead to 5-1. Montalvo doubled to plate two runs and Staffier singled to bring in another.

The guests extended their lead to five runs, 6-1, in the top of the fourth on O'Brien's home run to right field.

Maritime couldn't get anything going until the bottom of the sixth when they scored five times to tie the game at 6-6. Velzis was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, Pietrafesa singled in two runs, Hefner singled in one and Quillen was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. The teams were in a 6-6 stalemate at the end of six. 

In the top of the seventh, the Chargers worked the bases loaded and picked up a bases loaded walk to bring in the go ahead run. Maritime got the tying run on base in the bottom of the seventh but could not score him, leading to a 7-6 loss to the Chargers in game two.

What's Next

The Bucs are back home on Tuesday, March 5th to take on UMass Dartmouth in non-conference play beginning at 4pm at Hendy Field.