By Jim Fenton

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- The Bridgewater State University baseball team broke into the win column with a dramatic come-from-behind victory Tuesday afternoon.

Trailing, 8-5, in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Bears erupted for nine runs and overtook Hilbert College of Hamburg, N.Y., 14-8, at the Polo Grounds.

Junior Ryan Flaherty (Duxbury, Mass.) hit a three-run home run and singled in another run while senior Brendan Flaven (Taunton, Mass.) also homered in that eighth-inning rally as BSU improved to 1-4.

The Bears had 19 hits, 10 of them coming in the eighth inning against two Hawks' relievers.

Senior Scott Emerson (Peabody, Mass.) got things going with a double to left and advanced on a single through the left side by senior Kevin Lindsay (East Bridgewater, Mass.).

Flaherty stepped up and homered to right field to make it 8-8.

Senior Philip Messina (Dunkirk, N.Y.) reached on a fielder's choice after a single by junior Joshua Selander (Granby, Conn.), and Flaven homered down the right-field line for a 10-8 BSU lead.

Freshman Jeyden Espinal (Fall River, Mass.) then doubled to right (his first collegiate hit) and scored on a single through the left side by freshman Jamie Luna (Warwick, R.I.) to make it 11-8.

With two outs, Emerson was hit by a pitch, and Luna scored on a single through the left side by Lindsay.

Flaherty followed with an RBI single through the right side and freshman Cam Beltramini (Hanson, Mass.) finished the scoring with a double down the left-field line. The hit marked the first of Beltramini's collegiate career.

BSU had led, 3-0, after two innings with Lindsay getting an RBI single after a double to right-center by Emerson and Messina adding an RBI double in the first with Emerson adding an RBI single to right in the second.

Hilbert (3-3) tied it with three runs in the top of the third, all with two outs.

Sophomore Dustin Hendrix (Lakewood, N.Y.) hit a three-run homer after a hit batsman and an infield hit.

BSU went up, 5-3, in the bottom of the inning as Flaven tripled with one out and scored on a single to center by junior Riley Thornell (Wareham, Mass.) with an error bringing in the next run.

Hilbert took its first lead by scoring three times in the fourth, making it 6-5. One of the runs was unearned.

The Hawks went up 7-5 in the sixth on an RBI single by graduare Kyle Borrello (Hamburg, N.Y.) and added a run in the eighth via an outfield error.

The top three hitters in the BSU lineup had nine of the hits with Emerson going 4-for-5 while Lindsay was 3-for-4 and Flaherty had two hits. Flaven was also 3-for-4.

Freshman Cameron Connolly (Peabody, Mass.), the third of four BSU pitchers, earned his first collegiate win. Connolly (1-0) gave up a run and two hits over two innings.

Sophomore Deshaughn Forbes (Nassau, Bahamas) was the starter, striking out six in his four innings.

BSU had a game on Monday against Penn College canceled due to rain.

The Bears play on Wednesday against Penn State-Berks at 9 a.m.