By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University baseball team celebrated Senior Day with a pair of victories and a new all-time career hit leader being established.
The Bears combined for 40 runs and 35 hits on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Park, defeating the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, 22-3, in the opener and taking the second game, 18-3.
First-place BSU (23-11) improved to 14-3 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference with four games remaining this week.
Senior second baseman Scott Emerson (Peabody, Mass.) became the Bears' all-time leader in career hits during the second game.
Emerson now has 232 hits, breaking the mark of 231 that was held by Steve Smith, who played from 2005-08. He tied the record with a third-inning single in the second game and broke the mark with a single in the fifth.
Emerson, who is also the Bears' all-time leader in runs scored and stolen bases, scored four runs in the doubleheader to reach the 200 mark (202), and added a pair of stolen bases to increase his career total to 99.
The offense had 21 hits in the first game, then sent 19 batters to the plate in the first inning of the second game while scoring 15 runs.
Junior Ryan Flaherty (Duxbury, Mass.) went 7-for-8 in the doubleheader and drove in seven runs. Flaherty also hit his 14th home run of the season, one shy of the school record set 39 years ago.
Flaherty is tied for second with John Kiely and Chris Mercadante, who each hit 14 in 1987. Kiely owns the record of 15 established in 1986.
Senior Kevin Lindsay (East Bridgewater, Mass.) had five hits and drove in six runs. He now has 205 career hits, fourth on the all-time list at BSU.
Emerson also had five hits in the two games and drove in a pair of runs.
Junior Joshua Selander (Granby, Conn.) contributed four hits and three RBI in the two wins.
Game One: Bridgewater State 22, MCLA 3
The Bears scored in all six innings, getting six in the third and eight in the fifth.
Sophomore Jaden Arruda (Seekonk, Mass.) is 3-0 after going six innings and striking out four to pick up the win. Sophomore Michael Cobb (Waltham, Mass.) worked the seventh inning.
Flaherty was 5-for-5 with the homer, two doubles and four RBI while Emerson, Lindsay and freshman Jamie Luna (Warwick, R.I.) had three hits each.
Lindsay drove in five runs and Selander and senior Philip Messina (Dunkirk, N.Y.) had two hits each.
BSU took a 2-0 lead in the first on an RBI single by Lindsay, who later scored on a groundout.
The Bears went up, 3-0, in the second as Luna doubled and scored on Lindsay's single.
MCLA made it 3-1 in the third as Walsh singled, went to second on a single by Jacob, to third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout.
BSU made it 9-1 in the bottom of the inning.
Flaherty doubled home Selander, who had tripled. Flaherty later scored while working a double steal with Messina and Luna and Emerson had RBI singles.
A sacrifice fly by Lindsay and a wild pitch brought in the last two runs of the inning.
The Bears added four more in the fourth for a 13-1 lead with a Messina sacrifice fly and an error bringing in the first two runs.
Emerson had an RBI single and senior Brendan Flaven (Taunton, Mass.) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
BSU scored eight times in the fifth.
Luna and Lindsay had two-run doubles and sophomore Benjamin Sepeck (Whitman, Mass.) singled in a run.
Flaherty then hit a three-run homer to left-center field.
MCLA scored two runs in the sixth on a two-run homer to center by Chris Vargas and BSU had its final run in the bottom of the inning as sophomore Logan Petrosino (Beverly, Mass.) tripled to deep right field and came around to score on an errant throw back to the infield.
Game Two: Bridgewater State 18, MCLA 3
Senior Shane Handrahan (Raynham, Mass.) moved his record to 4-1, allowing three runs and two hits with four strikeouts in five innings. Handrahan is now 18-3 in his career as he is tied for eighth on the Bears' all-time wins list.
Flaven, Selander, Flaherty and senior DJ Prampin (Worcester, Mass.) had two hits and three RBI each while Lindsay and Emerson also had two hits apiece.
The Bears scored their 15 first-inning runs on eight hits and took advantage of two MCLA errors.
Emerson, who batted three times in the inning, started it by getting hit by a pitch and Lindsay walked. After they stole bases, Flaven singled to right for the first run.
Selander walked and Flaherty had a two-run single to center, then stole second. Junior Riley Thornell (Wareham, Mass.) reached on an error, scoring a run, and Prampin had a two-run triple to make it 6-0.
Luna and Emerson were hit by pitches and Lindsay singled home a run with Flaven drawing a bases-loaded walk.
Selander then doubled in three runs and Flaherty added an RBI single.
Junior Oscar Vargas-Pacheco (Bound Brook, N.J.) contributed an RBI double, an error on a ball hit by Thornell brought in the 14th run and Prampin added a sacrifice fly.
BSU scored once in the second as Flaven singled home Lindsay, who had doubled.
MCLA scored all three of its runs in the third on a two-run single by Brissaile with a groundout bringing in the other run.
The Bears' final two runs were in the sixth on a two-run double to left-center by Sepeck.
The BSU seniors were honored during the day. The group includes Emerson, Handrahan, Flaven, Messina, Nick Reiser (Nahant, Mass.) and Cameron Breault (Buzzards Bay, Mass.).
The Bears are playing Monday at 3 p.m. at Fitchburg State University in a makeup game.
MCLA (5-26, 2-16 MASCAC) is at Williams on Tuesday at 4 p.m.