NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- Senior left fielder Steve Smith (East Taunton, MA) homered, doubled and drove in six runs to lead the visiting Bridgewater State College Bears to a 17-9 victory over UMass Dartmouth this afternoon in a non-conference game at the UMass Dartmouth Athletic Complex.
Smith's double in a seven-run ninth inning broke Ed Grueter's (1988-91) career hits record of 215. Smith, who went 2-for-4 in the game with a walk and a sacrifice fly, had tied the mark with his team-leading fifth home run of the season in the Bears' five-run sixth inning.
BSC's ninth inning explosion foiled a UMass Dartmouth comeback that had seen the Corsairs reduce the Bears' lead from 10-3 to 10-9 going to the top of the ninth.
UMass Dartmouth began their comeback by scoring five runs in the seventh inning, getting the first three on a three-run blast junior third baseman Dave McGuire (Plainville, MA). Junior first baseman Casey Askeland (Dartmouth, MA) drove in a run in the eighth to make it 10-9.
However, sophomore shortstop Brian Medairos (Brockton, MA) led off the ninth with a home run for the Bears and Smith brought it two more with his record-setting double. Sophomore first baseman Tom Couet (East Freetown, MA), who had entered the game as a pinch hitter an inning earlier, capped off the outburst with a two-run homer.
BSC took advantage of a pair of errors, a double by sophomore third baseman Mark Claffey (Bellingham, MA) and Smith's sacrifice fly to take an early 4-0 lead. Senior right fielder Kevin Narey (Lynn, MA) singled home a run in a two-run second for the Corsairs, and an RBI single by freshman designated hitter Chris Benevides (Fall River, MA) in the third made it 4-3. Back-to-back home runs by Smith and junior catcher Kelly LaDow (East Falmouth, MA) keyed a five-run Bridgewater sixth that made it 10-3.
McGuire finished with three RBIs for the Corsairs. LaDow, Medairos and freshman right fielder Steve Lambert (Milton, MA) all finished 3-for-5 on the afternoon for the Bears.
Freshman Brian Guillotte (New Bedford, MA), the second of four BSC pitchers, earned the victory and improved to 1-0, while junior Dennis Jennette (East Brookfield, MA) earned his first save of the season. Sophomore right-hander Adam Gustafson (Dighton, MA) started and took the loss for the Corsairs, falling to 0-6.
The Corsairs dropped to 3-28 with the loss, while the Bears improved to 18-12 with the win. UMass Dartmouth will return to action when they host Roger Williams in a non-conference game Friday, while BSC will play Curry College Friday at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton.