VERO BEACH, Fla. -- The Bridgewater State University baseball team split a doubleheader with Lebanon Valley College on Tuesday afternoon in Vero Beach, Florida.

The Bears (3-2) posted a 17-7 win in the opener while the Dutchmen (3-4) earned the split with a 6-2 victory in game two.

In the opener, the Bears plated six runs in the top of the third inning to take a 6-1 lead. Travis Ritchie tripled home Chandler Furtado with the first run of the inning while Brandon Hoyle and Drew Gentile each added RBI singles. Ryan Kelleher capped of the scoring in the frame with a two-run single.

The Dutchmen got a run back in the bottom of the inning when Michael Puglisi belted a solo home run. In the fourth, Colin Albright roped an RBI-double to score Marshall Kiessling and Joshua Marcelli followed with a three-run blast to knot the score at six-all. Later in the inning, Zac Edwards singled home Puglisi to give the Dutchmen a 7-6 lead.

The BSU offensive exploded for four runs in the fifth, three in the sixth and four more in the seventh to break the game open.

The Bears banged out 21 hits in the contest led by three hits apiece from Ritchie (3-for-6), Furtado (3-for-5), Hoyle (3-for-4), Kelleher (3-for-4) and Reed Pike (3-for-4). Kelleher scored three runs and drove in five. Ritchie finished with three RBI, while Pike scored four runs and knocked in one. Hoyle and Furtado each scored two runs while recording an RBI.

Rookie lefthander Greg Cavaioli tossed 3 2/3 innings of scoreless and hitless relief to pick up the win in his collegiate debut. Cavaioli (1-0) walked one and fanned four as he retired 11 of the 12 batters he faced.

In game two, the Dutchmen scored all six runs of their runs in the first inning en route to the 6-2 win.

An RBI base hit by Brett Fundell got the scoring started in the first. Albright followed with a two-run single, while Jonathan Harned, Puglisi and Edwards added RBI singles in the frame.

Bridgewater got on the board in the fourth inning as back-to-back singles by Ryan Feeney and Keaghan Austin-MacInnis followed by a walk to Pike loaded the bases with one out. A Davide Tamarez fielder's choice groundout plated Feeney with the Bears' first run of the game.

Randy Frazier singled to lead off the fifth and moved to third on a Devin Sanders' double. One out later, a sacrifice fly by Ritchie plated Frazier to make it a 6-2 ballgame.

Eric Marrero went the distance on the mount for the Dutchmen. Marrero (1-1) gave up two runs on eight hits and three walks with six strikeouts.

After a rocky first inning, BSU lefthander Samuel Devine settled down to throw six straight scoreless inning. Devine (0-1) gave up eight hits, walked three and struck out six in the complete game effort.

Edwards was the only player with multiple hits as he went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.

Pike reached safely in all three plate appearances as he singled and walked twice.

The Bears return to the diamond on Wednesday when they take on Penn State Behrend at noon.