BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The visiting Salem State University baseball team swept a MASCAC doubleheader against Bridgewater State University on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Park. Salem won the opener, 4-1, and completed the sweep with a 12-4 victory in game two.
The Vikings improve to 19-10 on the season and remain atop the MASCAC standings with a perfect 6-0 league mark. Bridgewater slips to 9-14 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
Game One: Salem State 4, Bridgewater State 1
Ryan Hyjek (Tolland, Conn.) improved to 5-1 on the season as he went the distance on the hill in the opener. Hyjek allowed one run on six hits with a walk and seven strikeouts.
The Vikings scored a run in each of the first three innings. Richard Fecteau (Newbury, Mass.) tripled and scored on a ground out in the first. Kyle McElroy (Newburyport, Mass.) singled and came all the way around to score on Mike Lamothe's (Beverly, Mass.) RBI double. Salem took a 3-0 lead in the third as Kevin Carens (Northborough, Mass.) walked, advanced to third on a base hit by Fecteau and scored on Matt Burgess' (Kingston, Mass.) RBI single.
The Bears cut the deficit to 3-1 in the fourth inning. Singles by Nicholas White (Bellingham, Mass.), Ryan Manning (Plainville, Mass.) and Jacob Souza (Acushnet, Mass.) loaded the bases with one out. White would score on Sean Brooks' (Braintree, Mass.) sacrifice fly.
Salem extended the lead to 4-1 in the sixth as Alex Toomey (Beverly, Mass.) doubled home McElroy who led off the frame with a base hit.
The Bears stranded a runner on third in the fifth inning and two runners in scoring position in the sixth.
Andy Sadoski (Harwich, Mass.) went the distance on the mound in the loss. Sadoski (4-3) allowed four runs on 11 hits. He walked one and fanned four.
Fecteau went 3-for-4 to lead the Vikings' 11-hit attack, while Burgess, McElroy and Toomey chipped in with two-hits apiece.
White and Souza both finished 2-for-3 to highlight the BSU offense.
Game Two: Salem State 12, Bridgewater State 4
The Vikings banged out 13 hits in the nightcap and used a pair of five-run innings to complete the sweep.
McElroy went 3-for-4 with a run and three RBI. He doubled home a run in the Vikings' five-run first inning and singled home a run in Salem's five-run sixth. McElroy added an RBI double in the fifth.
The Viking took advantage of a dropped fly ball in the top of the first to take the early 5-0 lead. Four of the runs were unearned. Ethan Trowt (Beverly, Mass.) had a big two-run double in the frame.
The Bears answered with four runs in the second to cut the deficit to 5-4. Kevin Sugermeyer (Hampden, Mass.) plated two runs with a bases loaded double and Brooks followed with a two-run single.
After plating single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, Salem put the game well out of reach with the five-run sixth. Burgess singled in two runs in the frame while McElroy and Brett Cahill (Gloucester, Mass.) added RBI base hits.
The Vikings finished with six doubles in game two.
Cahill went 3-for-4 with a double, three runs and an RBI. Trowt (2-for-3) and Toomey (2-for-3) added two hits apiece. Trowt doubled twice, scored a run and drove in two, while Toomey had a double, a run and an RBI.
Brandon Hoyle (Bridgewater, Mass.) was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate for BSU with a run scored.
Viking left-hander Sean Buckland (Lynn, Mass.) worked the first six innings to improve to 4-0 on the season. Buckland gave up four runs on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts.
David Holmes (Easton, Mass.) gave up ten runs (six earned) on ten hits in the setback for the Bears. Holmes (1-3) walked one and fanned three.
The MASCAC schedule resumes for both teams on Tuesday afternoon. The Bears host Mass. Maritime Academy, while the Vikings entertain Framingham State University. Both doubleheaders get underway at two. Salem also hosts Tufts University in a non-conference match-up on Monday afternoon at 3:30.