By Jim Fenton

FITCHBURG, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University baseball team has clinched at least a share of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season championship.

The Bears defeated Fitchburg State University, 6-3, in a makeup game on Monday afternoon, giving them a 15-3 conference record.

BSU (24-11 overall) is three games ahead of second-place Westfield State University (12-6) with the Bears and Owls meeting in a three-game series to finish the regular season later this week.

One victory will give BSU the title outright and the No. 1 seed in next week's MACAC tournament.

The Bears won the 2022 conference title outright, shared it with Framingham State in 2023 and with Framingham State and Salem State a year ago.

BSU has won three straight MASCAC tournament titles.

During the Bears' win over Fitchburg State, junior Ryan Flaherty (Duxbury, Mass.) tied the program record with his 15th homer of the season.

Flaherty now shares the mark with John Kiely, who hit 15 home runs in 1986. Kiely pitched for the Detroit Tigers from 1991-93.

Senior Scott Emerson (Peabody, Mass.) notched his 100th career stolen bases (most in program history) and rapped a single for his 300th career total base. Only BSU Hall of Famer Steve Smith (2005-08) has more total bases with 347.

Senior Kevin Lindsay (East Bridgewater, Mass.) recorded his 100th career RBI.

BSU is on a four-game winning streak after beating the Falcons (12-18, 6-12 conference).

Freshman Cameron Connolly (Peabody, Mass.) was the winning pitcher, improving to 4-0 in his fourth career start.

Connolly struck out five and scattered eight hits in seven innings. Senior Nick Reiser (Nahant, Mass.) pitched the last two innings.

The Bears scored a run in the third inning when senior DJ Prampin (Worcester, Mass.) doubled and went to third when Emerson reached on an error before scoring on a two-out milestone RBI single by senior Kevin Lindsay (East Bridgewater, Mass.). Emerson recorded his milestone stolen base in the third inning as past of a double steal with Lindsay.

The lead went to 3-0 in the sixth as Emerson singled for this 300th total base, went to third on a base hit by Lindsay and scored on a groundout. Junior Joshua Selander (Granby, Conn.) had a sacrifice fly to score Lindsay.

BSU scored a run in the seventh with two outs to make it 4-0. Prampin had a ground-rule double and came home on a double to left center by freshman Jamie Luna (Warwick, R.I.).

Fitchburg State broke the shutout in the seventh as senor Max Kelly (East Bridgewater, Mass.) had an RBI double to score junior Adam Koza (Windham, N.H.), who had singled.

Flaherty hit his record-tying homer to left field, leading off the ninth inning. The RBI marked his 54th of the 2025 campaign, five shy of Jeremy Winters' single-season program mark of 59 set in 2003.

BSU scored once more in the inning on a sacrifice fly by Emerson, scoring senior Philip Messina (Dunkirk, N.Y.), who had singled and moved to third on a pair of walks.

Fitchburg State added two runs in the ninth, getting the first when junior Maxwell Riordan (Pepperell, Mass.) led with a homer.

Senior Cole DuHaime (Warminster, Pa.) had an RBI single.

Both teams had 10 hits with Luna, Messina, Prampin and Lindsay getting two each for the Bears. Riordan had a game-high three hits for the Falcons.

BSU travels to Westfield State Friday to open the final series at 3:30 p.m. and will host the Owls in a doubleheader on Saturday at noon.

Fitchburg State is at Dean College Wednesday for a 3:30 p.m. non-conference game.