Baseball Falls to Suffolk, 6-2

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The visiting Suffolk University baseball team posted a 6-2 win over Bridgewater State University on Wednesday afternoon at Alumni Park.

The Rams improve to 12-4 on the season with the win, while the host Bears slip to 6-9 overall with their fifth straight setback.

Suffolk pushed across three runs in the top of the second inning despite hitting only one ball out of the infield. Jon Lapolla (Providence, R.I.) and Jake Frasca (Darien, Conn.) reached on infield singles and Drew Carter (Newburyport, Mass.) walked to load the bases. Kevin Belskie (Norristown, Pa.) plated Lapolla with an RBI ground out and Julien Plana (Miami, Fla.) followed with an RBI single to center to score Frasca. After a pop up in front of the plate was dropped, Carter raced home with the third run of the innings as the Bears threw down to second get the force out.

Frasca added an RBI single in the third to give the Rams a 4-0 lead.

The Bears got on the board with an unearned run in the bottom half of the inning. With one out, Scott O'Brien (East Bridgewater, Mass.) lined a base hit into right field, moved to third when Ryan Feeney (East Bridgewater, Mass.) reached on an error and scored on Travis Ritchie's (Taunton, Mass.) two-out, RBI single.

Bridgewater cut the deficit to 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth. Back-to back singles by O'Brien and Ryan Kelleher (Danvers, Mass.) followed by a wild pitch put runners on second and third with one out. O'Brien then scored on Feeney's RBI ground out.

Suffolk tacked on two more runs in the top of the ninth inning on a pair of RBI singles by Rob Marks (Revere, Mass.) and Lapolla.

Tim Conroy (Arlington, Mass.) picked up the win on the mound for the Rams. Conroy (2-0) allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits over six innings of work with a pair of strikeouts. Chuck Gibson (Malden, Mass.) pitched the seventh and eighth innings and retired all six batters he faced including a pair of strikeouts, while Cal Carroll (Methuen, Mass.) worked a one-two-three ninth to close it out.

Lapolla (2-for-4), Frasca (2-for-5) and Sean Cameron (2-for-4) finished with two hits apiece to lead the Rams' ten-hit attack. Marks reached safely three times in five plate appearances as he was also hit by a pitch twice.

O'Brien went 2-for-3 at the plate as he was the only Bear to finish with multiple hits. Feeney (1-for-4) extended his season-long hitting streak to 15 games with a lead-off single in the bottom of the first.

Thomas Protentis (Lakeville, Mass.) suffered the loss on the hill for the Bears as he pitched into the sixth inning. Protentis (1-2) gave up four runs on five hits in five-plus innings. He walked three fanned one and hit three batters. Kevin Bresciani (Hopedale, Mass.) and Shane Surette (Haverhill, Mass.) combined to work three innings of scoreless relief.

All told, BSU hurlers hit five batters, walked four and threw a pair of wild pitches. The Rams, who left eight runners on, stole five bases in the contest and were also caught twice. Bridgewater's defense turned three double plays.

In upcoming action, the Bears travel to Wheaton College on Friday afternoon for a 3:30 game with the Lyons. The Rams head to Curry College tomorrow afternoon to take on the Colonels at 3:30.