Baseball Suffers 4-3 Setback to Johnson & Wales

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Ivan Reyes' walk-off single with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University to a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over visiting Bridgewater State University on Wednesday afternoon at the Scotts Athletic Complex in Providence.

The host Wildcats improve to 4-6 with the win, while the Bears slip to 3-7. Bridgewater State was playing its first game since March 13th.

Trailing 3-2 in the eighth inning, the Wildcats tied the game on an RBI single off the bat of Ryan Cabral. Cabral had entered the game as a pinch hitter in the sixth.

After the Bears went down in order in the top of the ninth, Tom Elkow singled to lead off the bottom half of the inning and promptly stole second. Following an intentional walk, both runners moved up on a ground out to second. That set the stage for Reyes who plated Elkow with the game-winning run.

Bridgewater had taken an ealy 1-0 lead as Scott O'Brien doubled to lead off the second, moved to third on a sacrifice and trotted home on Anthony Deleo's RBI single.

The Bears tacked on a pair of runs in the fifth on a bases loaded two-run single by Nick White.

The Leopards, however, answered with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Back-to-back doubles by Lou Umberto and Elkow plated the first run of the frame. Elkow then stole third and came around to score on Kory Ferullo's RBI single.

Elkow finished 2-for-5 at the plate with two runs, an RBI and a pair of stolen bases, while Ferullo singled twice and walked in five plate appearances. Carlos Sanabria paced the Wildcats' 11-hit attack as he went 3-for-4 with a walk and a run scored. 

O'Brien went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base to highlight the BSU offense. The Bears finished with five hits in the contest.

Keith Grant worked the first seven innings on the mound for the Wildcats. Grant gave up three runs on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Brian Quinlan retired all five batters he faced including a pair of strikeouts to pick up the win in relief.

Chris Pessotti got the start on the hill for the Bears. Pessotti allowed two runs on six hits with three walks while fanning two in 4 2/3 innings of work. Nicholas Ciuffo gave up one run on three hits with three K's in three innings of relief. Shane Surette suffered the loss giving up a run on two hits with a pair of walks.

The Bears open MASCAC play on Friday afternoon when they travel to Salem State University for a one o'clock doubleheader with the Vikings.