Baseball Sweeps Bridgewater State to Clinch Spot in MASCAC Tournament

Framingham, Mass. – The Framingham State University baseball team receive a pair of solid pitching performances from sophomores Kevin Connelly (Bolton, Mass.) and Kyle Hodgson (Berkley, Mass.) as the Rams swept Bridgewater State in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) baseball doubleheader and clinched a spot in the MASCAC Tournament  this afternoon at Bowditch Field.  The Rams took the opener 6-1 and sealed the sweep with a 3-1 win in game two.

With the wins, the Rams are now16-20 on the year and 6-8 in the MASCAC.  Pairing and seedings for the 2017 MASCAC Baseball Tournament will be announced later this evening.  The Bears are now 10-21 on the year and 3-11 in the MASCAC.

In the opener the Rams plated six runs in the bottom of the sixth to come from behind and secure the victory.  Sophomore Kyle Lippert led off the inning with a double and senior Manny Powers (Malden, Mass.) followed with a single.  Senior Ryan Wardwell (Hudson, Mass.) followed with a single to right tying the game.  The Rams proceeded to load the bases and sophomore Jordan Pallazola (Rockport, Mass.) delivered the go ahead run with a sacrifice fly.  The Rams reloaded the bases and Kyle Pileski (Bristol, Conn.) delivered a grand slam to center putting the Rams up 6-1.

Junior Kevin Connelly (Bolton, Mass.) retired the Bears in the top of the seventh to earn the win on the mound.  Connelly went the distance allowing just one earned run on five hits with three strikeouts and two walks.

The Bears took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning that stood until the bottom of the sixth.  Back-to-back singles from Billy Mitchell (Walpole, Mass.) and Tyler Morini (Plymouth, Mass.) gave the Bears runners on second and third and an intentional walk loaded the bases.  Junior Alex Carey (East Bridgewater, Mass.) drove in the Bears' lone run with a sacrifice fly to deep center as Connelly was able to record a pop out to end the inning.

Connor Birch took the loss for the Bears going five plus innings and allowing four earned runs on five hits with three strikeouts and two walks.  Mike Nader tossed an inning of relief and allowed two earned runs on one hit.

Hodgson went the distance in game two allowing one earned run on six hits with four strikeouts.

The Rams got on the board first in game two on an RBI single by Pileski in the bottom of the first inning.

Sophomore Aaron Williams (Brockton, Mass.) reached in the bottom of the second on a bunt single and moved to second on a failed pickoff attempt. Williams stole third and came in to score on an RBI single by Lippert extending the lead to 2-0.

The Bears cut the deficit in half in the top of the third.  Dominic Precopio (Framingham, Mass.) doubled and came around to score on a single by Morini.

The Rams tacked on a final run in the bottom of the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Matt Brockett (Guilford, Conn.) to reach the final margin.

Thomas Protentis (Lakeville, Mass.) took the loss for the Bears going two innings and allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits with two walks.

The Rams are back in action on Sunday afternoon when they host Johnson & Wales at Bowditch Field at 2 p.m.