BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University baseball team coasted to a 9-1 victory over visiting Wentworth Institute of Technology on Wednesday afternoon at sunny Alumni Park.
The Bears improve to 18-9 on the season, while the Leopards fall to 12-11. The Bears are now 12-1 versus Wentworth since 1991 with all 13 contests taking place at Bridgewater.
BSU freshman righthander Cameron Breault (Buzzards Bay, Mass.) tossed seven solid innings to pick up his first collegiate win. Breault (1-2) gave up just one run on five hits with a walk and three strikeouts.
Senior designated hitter Jonathan O'Donnell (Hull, Mass.) went 3-for-4 with his first home run in a BSU uniform to pace the Bears' 12-hit attack. O'Donnell drove in three runs and scored two.
The Bears opened the scoring in the bottom of the third inning. Sophomore catcher Eric Longley (Mansfield, Mass.) led off the frame with a double down the left field line and came around to score on junior left fielder Sean Goudey's (Weymouth, Mass.) RBI single.
The Leopards knotted the score at 1-1 in the top of the fourth. Sophomore third baseman Michael Petit (Sandwich, Mass.) singled to lead off the inning, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on senior designated hitter Kyle Desjardins' (North Granby, Conn.) base hit up the middle.
Sophomore right fielder Jay Wladkowski (Norwood, Mass.) doubled to lead off the home half of the fourth and advanced to third two outs later when sophomore centerfielder Shane Foley (East Bridgewater, Mass.) reached on an infield single. After Foley stole second, O'Donnell smashed a three-run homer over the left field fence to put the Bears back on top, 4-1.
Bridgewater tacked on a run in the fifth on Wladkowski's RBI single to extend the lead to 5-1.
The Bears sent nine batters to the plate and capitalized on five walks to push across three more runs in the sixth to make it an 8-1 game. Goudey connected for an RBI double in the frame while Wladkowski drove in a run with a bases loaded walk.
O'Donnell singled and scored all the way from first on Longley's double to deep left-center in the seventh to cap off the scoring.
Wladkowski reached safely four times on the day as he went 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, a stolen base, a run and two RBI. Longley finished 2-for-3 at the plate with a pair of doubles, a walk, two runs and an RBI, while Foley (2-3, BB, SB, 2R) and Goudey (2-4, 2B, SB, 2RBI) also recorded multiple hits for the Bears.
Freshman righthander Ty Lobmeyer (Cheyenne, Wyo.) tossed two scoreless innings of relief to close out the game for Bridgewater State. Lobmeyer gave up a pair of hits and fanned one.
Petit (2-4, R), Desjardins (2-4, RBI) and senior shortstop Kyle O'Neill (Haverhill, Mass.) each notched multiple hits for Wentworth. O'Neill singled twice in two trips to the plate.
Freshman righthander Matt Ferrara (East Taunton, Mass.) suffered the loss on the hill for the visitors in his first collegiate start. Ferrara (0-1) allowed four runs on five hits over four innings with a walk and three strikeouts.
In upcoming action, the Bears entertain the Colonels of Curry College tomorrow afternoon at 3:30, while the Leopards travel to Roger Williams University on Saturday for a noontime Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) doubleheader with the Hawks.