Baseball Loses Series Opener to Bears 9-1

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The MCLA Baseball team opened their three-game MASCAC series with Bridgewater State this afternoon when they welcomed the Bears to the Zavattaro Athletic Complex. The Bears' Trey Yesu limited the Trailblazers to only four hits while striking out eight over eight innings to power the MASCAC leaders to a 9-1 victory.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Friday, April 25, 2025
• Score: Bridgewater 9, MCLA 1
• Records: Bridgewater State University Bears 21-11 (MASCAC 12-3) | MCLA Trailblazers 5-24 (MASCAC 2-14)
• Series History: Bridgewater State leads the all-time series 70-36. The Bears took both ends of a doubleheader the last time the teams met on April 27, 2024, by scores of 22-0 and 18-0 in North Adams. The teams split a doubleheader the first time they met on May 3, 1972, with MCLA winning the first game 2-1, and Bridgewater winning the second game 7-1 on May 3, 1972, in Bridgewater.

HOW IT WENT DOWN

• The Trailblazers scored the first run of the game, plating one run on one hit in the bottom of the first inning. Freshman outfielder Ben Jacob (Pittsfield, MA) led off with an infield single when he lined an 0-1 pitch off the leg of BSU's starting pitcher Trey Yesu. Jacob then stole second and moved to third on a productive ground out from MCLA senior starting pitcher Joshua Bissaillon (East Greenbush, NY). Senior outfielder Matt Castillo (Ozone Park, NY) then picked up the RBI with a groundball to the shortstop.
• The Bears responded in the bottom of the second as the Trailblazers defense let Bissaillon down, essentially giving Bridgewater five outs to score four runs on only two hits.
• BSU added single runs in the third and sixth innings on with the RBI for both being credited to Jamie Luna. The run in the third inning was scored by Riley Thornell while Luna reached on an error. The sixth inning run was scored on a no-doubt homerun to left field by Luna.
• Bridgewater added three additional runs, all by batters who had reached on walks. Ryan Flaherty brought home Scott Emerson with a bases loaded sacrifice fly before Philip Messina brought home Kevin Lindsay and Brendan Flaven with a double into the left-center field gap.
• Jacob was the only Trailblazer to pick up multiple hits, going 2-4 with a run scored and a stolen base. The other MCLA hits were by Matt Castillo and Rafael Castillo, Jr. (Bronx, NY).
• The Bears' Trey Yesu struck out eight batters while allowing only four hits over eight innings to improve his record to 5-3. Bissaillon struck out five over seven innings, allowing only two earned runs, but still falling to 0-6.

UP NEXT:

On Saturday, MCLA will be back in action when it travels to Alumni Park and Bridgewater State to conclude its MASCAC series with the Bears. The first pitch is scheduled for noon.

STAY CONNECTED:

For the latest on MCLA Athletics, follow the Trailblazers via our social media platforms on Facebook, Instagram, or X (formerly Twitter).