BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - The Worcester State University baseball team remained red hot to open the 2021 season with a pair of wins over Bridgewater State University Friday afternoon at Alumni Park.
With the wins, the Lancers move to 4-0 on the season, while Bridgewater State drops to 1-6.
Game 1 - Worcester State 6, Bridgewater State 2
Worcester State used another solid pitching performance in the first game of the doubleheader to pick up the win.
Reigning MASCAC Pitcher of the Week Sean Mahan (Woburn, Mass.) looked sharp for his second straight appearance, allowing just one earned run on two hits over five innings with seven strikeouts to pick up his second victory of the year. Sophomore Ben Smith (Bourne, Mass.) slammed the door shut for Worcester State with two innings in relief to close out the contest.
Junior Sean Devin (Lynn, Mass.) got the scoring going for Worcester State in the top of the fourth inning, driving home Zach Landry (Mashpee, Mass.) and Jake Breton (Wilbraham, Mass.) on a two-run single. Devin would come around to score on a wild pitch later in the inning to push the lead to 3-0.
After Bridgewater cut the lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth, Worcester State extended its lead in the top of the fifth. Junior Mike Chaves Jr. (Hudson, Mass.) drove in a run on a suicide squeeze to push it to 4-1, before Landry recorded an RBI single put the Lancers ahead 5-1.
Leadoff man Thomas DiBattista (Hudson, Mass.) added an insurance run in the top of the sixth on a sacrifice fly. Bridgewater would tack on one run in the bottom of the seventh, but the rally would fall short and the Lancers earned the victory.
Game 2 - Worcester State 7, Bridgewater State 6 (8 innings)
Game two would require more than the allotted seven innings, but by the time the dust had settled, it was once again the Lancers that emerged victorious.
Senior Pat Galvin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) recorded an RBI double in the top of the third inning to provide game two's first run, followed by another Chaves suicide squeeze to extend the lead to 2-0.
Bridgewater State got one run back in the bottom of the fourth, before the bats really came to life in the sixth. In the top of the frame, sophomore Chris Ausiello (Tyngsboro, Mass.) recorded an RBI single, which preceded an RBI sacrifice fly from classmate Zack Roberts (Northbridge, Mass.). Ausiello would score on a wild pitch later in the inning to extend Worcester State's lead to 5-1.
A two-run single and an RBI groundout for Bridgewater State in the bottom of the sixth cut the score to 5-4, and in the bottom of the seventh inning, a two-out reach-on-error plated the tying run to force extra innings.
In the top of the eighth, Alex Sorenti-Burns (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) provided the big hit with a pinch hit two-run single to put Worcester State ahead for good at 7-5. Bridgewater State pushed one run across in the bottom of the eighth on a wild pitch, but stranded runners on second and third to end the game.
With two hitless innings in relief, Kevin Zarnoch Jr. (Boston, Mass.) was credited with the win on the mound for Worcester State. Parker Bigelow (Leominster, Mass.) earned the save.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday for their third consecutive twinbill, with first pitch from Worcester State's Lyons Diamond slated for 12 p.m.
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