Late Scoring Outburst Lifts Baseball to 16-3 Win Over Penn State Berks

By Jim Fenton

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- For the second game in a row, the Bridgewater State University baseball team rode an offensive explosion to victory.

The Bears scored 13 runs in a three-inning span on the way to a 16-3 win over Penn State Berks Wednesday morning at Griffith Field.

A day earlier, BSU overcame an 8-5 deficit by scoring nine runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat Hilbert College, 14-8, for the first win of the season.

Junior Ryan Flaherty (Duxbury, Mass.) homered twice and went 3-for-5 with five RBI.

Flaherty is 12-for-24 with 10 RBI in the opening six games. His three-run homer in the eighth inning Tuesday against Hilbert keyed the BSU rally.

Senior Scott Emerson (Peabody, Mass.) was 3-for-5 and is 12-for-26 this season.

Freshman Jamie Luna (Warwick, R.I.) and senior DJ Prampin (Worcester, Mass.) added two hits each for the Bears (2-4), which outhit the Lions, 15-8.

BSU was behind, 3-2, in the fifth inning when it scored four times, then added three runs in the sixth and six more runs in the seventh.

The Bears started the scoring in the bottom of the first when Flaherty hit a two-out homer to left field.

A sacrifice fly by senior Brendan Flaven (Taunton, Mass.) in the third scored junior Oscar Vargas-Pacheco (Bound Brook, N.J.), who had singled, to make it 2-0.

Penn State Berks (2-9) took the lead with a three-run fourth inning.

Senior Logan Ewert (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) drew a one-out walk and freshman Nicholas Buchman (Allentown, Pa.) singled through the left side. The first run came home on an error after a single by senior Nick Hardesty (Red Lion, Pa.).

With two outs, freshman Cade Baumgardner (Hanover, Pa.) had an RBI infield hit and a wild pitch made it 3-2.

The Bears took a 6-3 lead in the fifth inning with four runs.

Sophomore Cam Grieve (Braintree, Mass.) walked, Prampin singled up the middle and Emerson singled to left to load the bases.

An error on a fielder's choice by Flaherty scored Grieve and Prampin, and Emerson came home on a wild pitch.

Luna reached on an error and stole second in the seventh, then scored the first of six runs in the frame on a double to center by Grieve for a 7-3 lead.

Prampin singled to left and Grieve scored on an outfield error. Emerson had an RBI single through the left side and after Flaven was hit by a pitch, Flaherty delivered a three-run homer to right field.

Junior Danny Jasmin (East Meadow, N.Y.) was the winning pitcher, striking out eight and allowing three runs and five hits in the opening five innings.

Senior Nathan Labonte (Raynham, Mass.) worked three innings and struck out six while junior Blake Samuelson (Millbury, Mass.) fanned two in the ninth inning.

Penn State Berks made six errors and struck out 16 times. BSU allowed just one walk.

The Bears continue the spring break trip with a doubleheader Thursday night against Worcester Polytechnic Institute at 6:30 and 9 p.m.