Baseball shutout in MASCAC opener at Bridgewater

Courtesy of BSU Sports Information

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University baseball team opened Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) play with a decisive 18-0 victory over visiting MCLA on Friday afternoon at Alumni Park.

The Bears improve to 9-6 on the season (1-0 MASCAC), while the visiting Trailblazers fall to 8-8 (0-1 MASCAC. The two teams were meeting for the first time since 2019 due to the pandemic. Bridgewater State is 36-10 versus MCLA since the turn of the century including a 22-6 mark at home.

Graduate righthander Matt Josselyn (Hanson, Mass.) tossed seven scoreless innings to record his second win of the season. Josselyn (2-1) scattered six hits, walked three and fanned a season-high nine batters.

The Bears recorded 17 hits in the contest, including eight for extra bases, were issued six walks and got hit by a pitch three times.

BSU scored early and often erupting for eight runs in the first inning, three in the third and five in the fourth as well as single runs in both the fifth and eighth innings.

Six Bears notched multiple hits on the afternoon led by freshman second baseman Scott Emerson (Peabody, Mass.). Emerson went 3-for-5 with a double, three runs and four RBI. Sophomore Shortstop Kevin Lindsay (East Bridgewater, Mass.) also finished with three hits as he was 3-for-4 at the plate with a triple, three runs and an RBI.

Sophomore right fielder Jay Wladkowski (Norton, Mass.) reached safely four times as he doubled, singled and walked twice in six plate appearances with two runs and an RBI.

Sophomore left fielder Joe Frechette (Plymouth, Mass.), senior designated hitter Jonathan O'Donnell (Hull, Mass.) and junior centerfielder Sean Goudey (Weymouth, Mass.) also registered multiple hits for the Bears. Frechette went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles, a run and three RBI, while O'Donnell went 2-for-5 with a double, a hit by pitch, a run and an RBI. Goudey singled twice in six plate appearances, was hit by a pitch and scored three runs.

Sophomore catcher Eric Longley (Mansfield, Mass.) came off the bench to smack his first collegiate home run, a solo blast over the left field fence in the bottom of the eighth inning to cap off the scoring.

Junior righthander Jake Graham (East Bridgewater, Mass.) threw two scoreless innings of relief for the Bears to secure the shutout win. Graham gave up just one hit, hit a batter and fanned one.

Junior third baseman Rob Correia (Waterbury, Conn.) was the lone Trailblazer with multiple hits as he singled twice in four at bats.

The two teams will meet again tomorrow with game one of the MASCAC doubleheader getting underway at noon.

Notes: The 18 runs marked the most in a game for the Bears since April 19, 2019, an 18-8 win at Framiningham....The last time the Bears scored 18 or more runs in a game at Alumni Park was April 23, 2009, an 18-8 victory over UMass Dartmouth.