By Jim Fenton

FRANKLIN, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University baseball team used a four-run eighth inning to overtake Dean College, 6-3, Thursday afternoon.

Playing their first game since returning from a spring break trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C., the Bears had trailed, 3-2, entering the top of the eighth.

BSU improved to 4-6 with its fourth win in the last six games. Dean lost its fifth straight game and is now 1-9 after the defeat at the Longley Athletic Complex.

Junior Riley Thornell (Wareham, Mass.) led the Bears' 11-hit attack by going 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI.

Seniors Brendan Flaven (Taunton, Mass.) and DJ Prampin (Worcester, Mass.) each had two hits for BSU.

The Bulldogs held a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by junior Nick Amendolara (Bayville, N.Y.) after sophomore Rylan Secovich (Southwick, Mass.) doubled and stole third.

The Bears tied it in the second when junior Joshua Selander (Granby, Conn.) singled, went to second on a groundout and to third on a passed ball before Prampin singled him home.

Dean went up, 3-1, in the sixth inning on a two-out, two-run single by senior Joey Bossinas (Ossining, N.Y.) after Amendolara reached on an error and sophomore Nathan Suncar (Boston, Mass.) doubled.

The Bears cut the deficit to 3-2 in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by junior Ryan Flaherty (Duxbury, Mass.) after Thornell doubled and moved up on a passed ball.

BSU took its first lead in the eighth with the four runs.

Senior Philip Messina (Dunkirk, N.Y.) was hit by a pitch and Prampin and freshman Jeyden Espinal (Fall River, Mass.) singled to load the bases.

Thornell delivered two runs with a single and another scored on an error on the play.

Sophomore Benjamin Sepeck (Whitman, Mass.), a pinch hitter, ended the scoring with an RBI single.

Senior Shane Handrahan (Raynham, Mass.) started for the Bears and went two innings. He was followed by seven pitchers in seven innings.

BSU pitchers combined to strike out eight Dean hitters with three walks.

Freshman Cameron Connolly (Peabody, Mass.) improved to 2-0 after pitching the sixth inning while senior Nick Reiser (Nahant, Mass.) worked the ninth, striking out two, to pick up the save.

Freshman Jayden Villalta (Pompton Lakes, N.J.) was the losing pitcher, working 1 1-3 innings of relief.

BSU plays a doubleheader on Saturday at noon against Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The games will be at the New England Baseball Complex in Northborough, Mass.

WPI swept a pair from the Bears in South Carolina last week.

Dean is at Emerson College on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.