Corey Batista leads Bridgewater State to NCAA tourney victory

Record-Setting Pitcher Shuts Down Tufts in NCAA Tournament

By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)

HARWICH, Mass. -- Corey Batista has put together a record-setting season for the Bridgewater State University baseball team this spring.

The junior pitcher has established new single-season school marks in shutouts and complete games after transferring from Massasoit Community College.

Batista added to both of those records on Wednesday afternoon at Whitehouse Field to lead the eighth-seeded Bears into the winner's bracket of the NCAA Div. 3 New England Regional.

He shut down top-seeded Tufts University, 4-0, by scattering six hits and striking out seven, giving Batista nine complete games and five shutouts this season.

BSU (24-15), making its first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2004, faces fifth-seeded Rhode Island College today at 4:30 p.m.

Batista (7-2, 1.16 ERA) showed the way for the Bears against Tufts (26-8-1), which had been shut out only once this season, back on March 20 by Washington & Lee.

"I've been throwing probably the best I've ever thrown," said Batista, who allowed just one runner to reach third base. "I looked at them the past couple of days and saw they had a few guys over .300, but I approached them like they'd be like every other team we played this year.

"They're the No. 1 seed and had a little edge on everyone, but I think we took that away today."

With Ian Williams of Taunton (two hits with a home run and three RBI in the first three innings) providing the offense, Batista took care of the rest on the same day he was named to the All-New England first team.

Tufts had more than one runner on base in only the fifth and sixth innings, but Batista got out of both jams unscathed.

"He's been like that all year," said BSU pitching coach Dave Fouracre. "He's done a great job. He was in total command. He gets all three pitches over and gets ahead all the time."

Batista, who threw 123 pitches, ranks among the national leaders in complete games and earned run average. He spent the past two seasons at Massasoit and didn't transfer to BSU until the spring semester in January.

"He wasn't with us in the fall, so we didn't get to see him pitch, other than at Massasoit," said BSU coach Rick Smith. "He's just a bear out there. He goes out every single pitch and every single inning and throws his heart out.

"We talked to him in the seventh inning and said that we've got six more outs. I said I was going to get (relievers) ready. He said, 'You don't need it, coach. I'm past it. I can do this. It's not a problem.'

"That's what the kid does. He throws as hard in the last inning as he does in the first. He's big and he's strong."

The Bears, who have gone 14-4 in their last 18 games, got Batista all the runs he would need in the top of the first inning off Tufts senior Derek Miller of Whitman.

Josh Ferreira, who made the All-New England second team, led off the game with a single and went to third on a hit-and-run single by David Pierce of East Bridgewater. Williams delivered a one-out RBI single to center, and Pierce scored on a bases-loaded walk to DH Matt Greenburg.

Miller (14-4 in his Tufts' career) was replaced after that one inning by Christian Sbily, who gave up two runs in the third inning.

Tyler Dennis of Stoughton led with a walk, and Williams drilled his third home run of the season to left field, giving him a team-best 42 RBI.

"Ian has been playing very, very well all year long,'' said Smith. "He's peaked right at the right time. He's not afraid to be in the big spot. He's an RBI machine.''

The Bears, who managed just two hits in the final six innings, had been idle since winning the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament on May 8, but they showed no signs of rust.

"We've been talking about it all week,'' said Batista of coming out strong. "We've been up at practice. We've had good practices all week. We were ready for it. We knew we couldn't come out flat and we wanted to prove we're not the No. 8 seed.

"We're the underdogs, and I think we sent a message beating the No. 1 seed."

Another Massasoit transfer, David Billotte, will be on the mound against RIC today. Billotte is 2-3 with a 1.64 ERA in seven games, including five starts.