Baseball Splits Twinbill with Lebanon Valley

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- The Bridgewater State University baseball team split a doubleheader with Lebanon Valley College on Tuesday in Vero Beach, Florida.

Both teams are now 4-1 on the season with the split.

In game one, senior right-hander Brian Guillotte (New Bedford, Mass.) was the pitcher of record for the Bears as he was making his first start of the 2011 season.  Guillotte (0-1) allowed six runs on six hits and a walk over five innings while striking out seven.  He was touched for four runs in the first inning but settled down and pitched well over the next four.

Bridgewater actually outhit the Flying Dutchmen, 8-6, and were also issued three walks.  The Bears, however, stranded eight runners over the last six innings. 

Bridgewater pushed across a pair of runs in the top of the sixth on RBI singles by sophomores David Pierce (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and Jose Polanco (Lawrence, Mass.).

Freshman Mike Specht (Hamburg, Pa.) went the distance for Lebanon Valley giving up just the two runs while striking out three to earn his first win of the season.

Junior Joshua Ferreira (Fall River, Mass.) paced the Bears with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate in the opener.

In game two, junior Matt Melia (East Sandwich, Mass.) made his first start in a BSU uniform a successful one as the right-hander picked up the win.  Melia allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits with three walks and a strikeout. 

Ferreira picked up his second save of the young season as he got the final out of the seventh inning.  Ferreira came on with one on and two outs and promptly hit the first two batters he faced to put the tying and go ahead runs on base.  Ferreira then struck out junior Ryan Schwart (Hummelstown, Pa.), who already had two hits in the game, on three pitches to give BSU the 7-5 win.

Bridgewater scored in every inning with Pierce getting the Bears on the board in the first with an RBI single.  They would add another run in the frame on a double play groundout.

Sophomore John Garabedian (Mansfield, Mass.) plated Polanco with an RBI groundout in the second, and senior Matt Greenberg (Norwell, Mass.) doubled and came around to score from third on a sacrifice fly off the bat of junior Ian Williams (Taunton, Mass.) in the third.

The Bears made it 5-0 in the fourth as sophomore Tyler Dennis (Stoughton, Mass.) singled with two outs and scored all the way from first on another Greenberg double.

Lebanon Valley scored twice in the top half of the fifth and Bridgewater answered with a single run as junior Dave Billotte (Norton, Mass.) was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame and eventually came around to score on a sacrifice fly by junior Matt Barsaleau (Holland, Mass.).

The Flying Dutchmen pulled to within a run with a three-run sixth inning.  Melia left after allowing the first two batters to reach, and junior Tyler Hughes (Middleboro, Mass.) came on and hit the first hitter he faced to load the bases. After a strikeout, back-to-back RBI singles from Schwartz and junior Aaron Mills (Clear Springs, Md.) and a sacrifice fly by junior Colt Zarilla (Dover, Pa.) made the score 6-5.  Hughes induced a groundout with the tying run at second to end the inning.

In the bottom of the sixth, Bridgewater got a big insurance tally as Ferreira singled to lead off the frame, went to third on a Dennis base hit and scored on a Billotte sacrifice fly.

Ferreira went 1-for-3 with two runs scored in game two, while Dennis finished 3-for-4 and also scored a pair of runs.  Greenberg went 2-for-3 with his two doubles.