Baseball Runs Streak to 16 with 5-1 MASCAC Win Over Worcester State

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Senior DJ Prampin (Worcester, Mass.) homered for the second straight game and the Bridgewater State University baseball team kept its winning streak going Monday afternoon.

The Bears made it 16 consecutive victories, the second-longest run in program history, with a 5-1 win over Worcester State University at Alumni Park.

BSU improved to 21-5 and is 15-1 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference. With eight conference games to go, the Bears own a four-game lead over Worcester State and Anna Maria, who are both 11-5.

Prampin, who leads the MASCAC with eight homers, went 2-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs.

He now has 23 career home runs and moved into a tie for fourth place on the program's all-time list with Chris Mercadante (1987-88).

The top three home run hitters are John Kiely (29, 1986-87), Jay Doherty (27, 1989-92) and Prampin's teammate, Ryan Flaherty (Duxbury, Mass.), who has 26 homers.

The 16-game winning streak trails only the 20 wins in a row compiled by the 1992 team.

Three BSU pitchers combined for a two-hitter, both hits coming in the fourth inning, and struck out 10 Worcester State batters. The Bears retired the final 16 Lancers beginning with the last batter of the fourth inning.

Senior Matt Kustigian (Charlton, Mass.) was the winning pitcher in an impressive relief appearance, improving to 5-0. Kustigian retired all 13 batters he faced in 4 1/3 innings and struck out four.

Senior Danny Jasmin (East Meadown, N.Y.) worked the first 3 2/3 innings and struck out five while giving up a run and two hits while senior CJ Hess (Providence, R.I.) pitched a one two-three ninth with a strikeout.

BSU scored single runs in the first and third innings for an early 2-0 lead over the Lancers (13-15).

In the first, junior Rylan Secovich (Southwick, Mass.) singled through the left side, went to second on an error and to third on a flyout before scoring on Flaherty's single through the left side.

Prampin hit his home run to left-center field with two outs in the third inning.

Worcester State got on the board in the fourth inning as junior Kevin Doyle (Bridgewater, Mass.) singled through the right side, went to second when sophomore Riggs Catlin (Dedham, Mass.) walked and to third on a wild pitch before scoring on a single by senior Nathan Thurber (Framingham, Mass.).

The Bears added a run in the sixth as sophomore Jeyden Espinal (Fall River, Mass.) singled home junior Benjamin Sepeck (Whitman, Mass.), who had walked and advanced on a single by freshman Nick Berube (Swampscott, Mass.).

BSU finished the scoring in the seventh with senior Joshua Selander (Granby, Conn.) and Prampin delivering RBI singles.

Prampin, Secovich and sophomore Cam Beltramini (Hanson, Mass.) had two hits each for BSU, which finished with 11. Beltramini extended his hitting streak to 16 games.

Sepeck, who went 1-for-2 with a pair of walks, doubled in the bottom of the first to extend his hitting streak to 14 games.

The Bears will open a three-game series on Friday when they travel to Westfield State for a 3:30 p.m. matchup with the Owls.

Worcester State is at Anna Maria on Friday for a 3 p.m. game.