By Jim Fenton
DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University baseball team made it nine wins in the last 10 games on Tuesday afternoon.
The Bears defeated the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 5-1, at Corsairs Field to improve to 11-7 following a 2-6 start to the season.
Winning pitcher Cameron Connolly (Peabody, Mass.), a freshman making his first collegiate start, pitched six scoreless innings.
Connolly (2-0) had pitched four innings of relief this season prior to the start against UMass Dartmouth. He gave up four hits (all singles), striking out two and walking one.
Junior Matt Kustigian (Charlton, Mass.), senior Nathan Labonte (Raynham, Mass.), sophomore Deshaughn Forbes (Nassau, Bahamas) and senior Nick Reiser (Nahant, Mass.) came on in relief in the final three innings.
BSU has won six of its last eight games against the Corsairs, who hold a 44-37-1 lead in a series that began in 1973.
The Bears had just four hits while UMass Dartmouth committed four errors. Senior DJ Prampin (Worcester, Mass.) had a pair of hits, including a home run, for BSU.
The Bears took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a sacrifice fly to left field by junior Joshua Selander (Granby, Conn.). Senior Kevin Lindsay (East Bridgewater, Mass.) had reached on a fielder's choice and advanced to third on a single by senior Brendan Flaven (Taunton, Mass.).
The score stayed that way until the top of the sixth inning when BSU added two more runs.
Selander reached on a two-base outfield error, and with two outs, Prampin homered to left-center field. It was Prampin's team-high sixth homer of the season and he now has 21 RBI.
The Bears made it 5-0 in the seventh inning as Lindsay had an RBI single to right and Flaven drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to left.
The inning started with junior Oscar Vargas-Pacheco (Bound Brook, N.J.) getting hit by a pitch. He was sacrificed to second by freshman Cam Beltramini (Hanson, Mass.) and scored on Lindsay's hit after senior Scott Emerson (Peabody, Mass.) was intentionally walked.
UMass Dartmouth (10-9) ended the Bears' shutout bid with one out in the bottom of the eight when sophomore Nick Bartalini (Reading, Mass.) homered to left, his first of the season.
Junior Ray Boutiette (Carver, Mass.) took the loss, allowing two earned runs and four hits in his seven innings.
The Corsairs held a 6-4 edge in hits with Bartalini, senior Liam Blesi (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) and senior Devyn Vezina (Coventry, R.I.) getting two each.
BSU returns to Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference action Friday at 3 p.m. when it hosts Salem State University to open a three-game series.
UMass Dartmouth is at Lasell University for a doubleheader on Sunday at 1 p.m.