Baseball Sweeps Apprentice to Open 2016 Campaign

VERO BEACH, Fla. -- The Bridgewater State University baseball team opened the 2016 campaign with a doubleheader sweep of The Apprentice School on Saturday in Vero Beach, Florida.

The Bears (2-0) posted a 2-0 shutout victory in the opener and completed the sweep with a 6-1 win in game two. Apprentice falls to 7-10 on the season with the two losses.

Senior righthander David Holmes (North Easton, Mass.) threw a gem in the opener as he tossed a complete game, three-hit shutout. Holmes (1-0) did not walk a batter and fanned nine. He retired the first 11 batters he faced as well as each of the last eight.

The Bears pushed across a run in the bottom of the first as senior center fielder Travis Ritchie (Taunton, Mass.) worked a one-out walk, stole second and scored on an RBI single off the bat of senior shortstop Ryan Feeney (East Bridgewater, Mass.).

Bridgewater added an insurance tally in the fifth. Ritchie led off the frame with a base hit, moved to third on a Feeney single and raced home on a two-out, infield single by junior designated hitter Brandon Hoyle (Bridgewater, Mass.).

The Bears banged out 11 hits in the contest (and stranded nine base runners) with Feeney (3-for-3) leading the way with three hits in his collegiate debut. Ritchie (2-for-3) and Hoyle (2-for-3) added two hits apiece.

Bridgewater received solid pitching again in game two as senior lefthander Shane Surette (Haverhill, Mass.) gave up just one run over six innings of work. Surette (1-0) scattered six hits, walked three and struck out three.

Down 1-0 early, the Bears rallied for two runs in the second to take the lead for good. Senior right fielder Keaghan Austin-MacInnis (Lakeville, Mass.) got the inning started with hit by pitch and sophomore first baseman Reed Pike (Bellingham, Mass.) followed with a base hit to put two runners on with nobody out. Hoyle plate Austin-MacInnis with an RBI single and Pike later came around to score on a sacrifice fly by sophomore catcher Drew Gentile (Lynn, Mass.).

Bridgewater added a run in the fourth on three straight two-out singles. Base hits by sophomore third baseman Randy Frazier (Wareham, Mass.) and Gentile put runners on first and second. Sophomore left fielder Ryan Kelleher (Danvers, Mass.) followed with an RBI single though the hole between third and short to plate Frazier with the Bears' third run of the game.

BSU would close out the scoring with a three-run fifth inning. Ritchie singled to lead off the frame, stole second and scored on Feeney's RBI double. Two outs later, Feeney would come around to score on a wild pitch. Hoyle walked to keep the inning alive, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on Frazier's RBI single.

Ritchie (2-for-4), Frazier (2-for-2) and Kelleher (2-for-3) finished with two hits apiece to lead the Bears' ten-hit attack in game two.

Sophomore right-hander Connor Birch (Bellingham, Mass.) pitched a scoreless seventh inning to close out the game.

Birch, Frazier and Kelleher were all making their BSU debuts.

The Bears are back in action on Monday afternoon at one when they take on Monmouth College.