Baseball Falls to Wentworth, 19-12

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University baseball team allowed a season-high runs total while losing to the Wentworth Institute of Technology.

The Leopards defeated the Bears for the second straight year, 19-12, at Alumni Park on Wednesday afternoon in BSU's final non-conference game.

The 19 runs scored by Wentworth surpasses the previous high of 14 in a loss to Wittenburg University of Ohio on March 10 during the trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C.

The teams combined for 31 runs and 33 hits one year after getting 25 runs and 30 hits in a 14-11 Wentworth win at BSU. Eleven pitchers on the two teams threw a combined 392 pitches (200 by the Leopards, 192 by the Bears).

The Bears made five errors and Wentworth had three.

The Leopards (19-17) had a 6-0 run in the third inning, and after BSU took a 7-6 advantage in the fifth, Wentworth scored 13 times in the final four innings.

The Leopards had 19 hits with six players getting at least two hits.

Junior Christian Roncal (Glendale, Ariz.) went 4-for-4 and drove in three runs and sophomore Cyle Archer (Chester, N.H.) was 4-for-7 with four RBI.

Seniors Matt Robinson (Mystic, Conn.) and Nick Cullinan (Sandy Hook, Conn.) had three hits and two RBI apiece.

Senior Matthew Favazzo (Lexington, Mass.) had two hits and two RBI and sophomore Josh Turcotte (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) had a pair of hits.

BSU (24-8) had 12 hits with sophomore Jamie Luna (Warwick, R.I.) going 3-for-5.

Junior Benjamin Sepeck (Whitman, Mass.) had two hits with three RBI while junior Rylan Secovich (Southwick, Mass.) and senior Ryan Flaherty each had two hits and two RBI.

Wentworth opened a 4-0 lead in the first, getting four hits and taking advantage of a pair of errors.

Archer had an infield hit, went to second when Robinson reached on an error and scored the first run on a single up the middle by Cullinan.

After Favazzo walked to load the bases, Turcotte had an RBI single, Roncal drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and senior Mike Siebert (Billerica, Mass.) had a run-scoring hit.

Wentworth led, 6-0, after Archer's two-run single to center in the third.

BSU scored twice in the bottom of the inning, getting an RBI single from Flaherty and a run-scoring double from Sepeck.

The Bears scored four runs in the fourth to tie the game at 6.

They loaded the bases with freshman Jackson Libby (Bolton, Mass.) and sophomore Zackary Casey (Leominster, Mass.) drawing walks and sophomore Jeyden Espinal (Fall River, Mass.) bunting for a hit.

Secovich and Flaherty walked to each bring in a run and two runs scored on a fielder's choice and error.

The Bears took their first lead at 7-6 in the fifth as Luna had an infield hit and went to third on a pair of errors before scoring on a sacrifice bunt by Casey.

Wentworth tied it in the sixth on an RBI single to right-center by Favazzo.

The Leopards then erupted for six runs in the seventh inning to open a 13-6 edge.

Junior Caleb Cormier (Worcester, Mass.) reached on an error, went to third on two wild pitches and scored when Archer reached on an error.

A double down the left-field line by Cullinan brought in Archer. Favazzo and Turcotte walked to load the bases and Roncal had a two-run single up the middle.

Cormier brought in the final two runs of the inning with a single up the middle.

Wentworth went ahead, 14-8, in the eighth on a sacrifice fly to right by Robinson.

The Leopards upped the lead to 19-8 in the ninth with five runs. Cormier had a sacrifice fly, Archer drove in two with an infield hit Robinson doubled home one and Favazzo had an RBI single.

BSU concluded the scoring with four runs in the ninth as senior Joshua Selander (Granby, Conn.) doubled in one, Sepeck had a two-run double and Luna single in a run.

Junior Jacob DeCoste (Medfield, Mass.) was the winning pitcher, allowing a run and a hit in two innings. Senior Blake Samuelson (Millbury, Mass.), the second of four BSU pitchers, took the loss.

The Bears finish 6-5 in 11 non-conference games this season.

It was Wentworth's third win in 17 games against BSU in a series that dates back to 1991.

The Bears finish the regular season by playing three games against Anna Maria College.

The teams meet on Friday at Anna Maria at 4 p.m. with a doubleheader at BSU on Saturday. The Bears need one win to clinch the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season title.

Wentworth plays at the Mass. Maritime Academy on Thursday at 4 p.m.