Fitchburg State Silenced By Bridgewater State

Falcons fall 3-1 in game one; blanked 4-0 in the nightcap

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (April 16, 2011) – The Fitchburg State baseball team suffered a twinbill setback to Bridgewater State University in MASCAC action this afternoon. The Falcons fell 3-1 in game one before being blanked, 4-0 in game two.

Bridgewater State 3, Fitchburg State 1

In the opener, Bridgewater State used single runs in the first, third and fifth innings to post its second conference victory of the season, 3-1.

Bridgewater State got on the board early in the first inning as junior Josh Ferreira (Fall River, Mass./Bishop Stang)  notched a lead-off double to start the game and later scored on an Ian Williams (Taunton, Mass./Taunton) groundout. The Bears double their lead in the third with an RBI single from Williams, before closing its scoring in the fifth on a Williams' sacrifice fly.

Fitchburg State mustered an unearned run in the sixth as sophomore Jeff Boice (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) scored off a Cody Bamforth (Vernon, Conn./Rockville) single, but that's all the offense the Falcons would get as junior Dave Billotte (Norton, Mass./Norton) closed the door.

Billotte earned the win for the Bears, tossing a complete game, seven-hitter. The junior hurler kept Fitchburg State off balance, surrendering just one run (zero earned), while striking out six and walking four. Junior Michal Mercier (Townsend, Mass./North Middlesex) suffered the loss on the hill for the Falcons (2-3), allowing just three runs on six hits over the complete game effort. Mercier struck out three in the contest, while only walking a pair.

Offensively, Boice led Fitchburg State, hitting 3-for-3 with one run scored, while Bamforth added a pair of hits and one RBI. Williams was strong at the plate for the Bears, finishing 1-for-2 with all three Bridgewater RBI's.

Bridgewater State 4, Fitchburg State 0

In the nightcap, Bridgewater State received a strong performance from junior Corey Bautista (Fall River, Mass./Bishop Connelly) who silenced the Fitchburg State bats and propelled the Bears to a MASCAC doubleheader sweep, 4-0.

Bautista finished the contest with 11 K's, surrendering just two hits and one walk in the complete game effort. His counterpart, sophomore Alex Teal (Malden, Mass./Malden) threw strong for Fitchburg State, allowing four runs and seven hit, while striking out three over six innings of work.

After three innings of scoreless play, Bridgewater State broke the game's scoring drought, plating single runs over the fourth and fifth frames for a 2-0 lead. In the fourth, Williams drew a leadoff walk and later scored on an RBI single from Keane Costa (Fairhaven, Mass./Fairhaven), while sophomore John Garabedian (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) scored in the fifth on a Williams sacrifice fly.

In the sixth, Bridgewater State broke the game open, plating a pair of runs for a 4-0 advantage. Ferreira fueled the rally with a two-run triple, while Costa and sophomore Tyler Dennis (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) notched back-to-back base hits to start the frame.

Freshman David Mason (Leominster, Mass./Leominster) and junior Frank Yavorsky (Westminster, Mass./Oakmont)  collected the lone hits for Fitchburg State, while Costa notched multiple hits for the Bears.

Fitchburg State (11-13, 1-5 MASCAC) returns to action on Monday as it hosts Mass-Maritime Academy at 12 p.m. Bridgewater State (12-11, 3-3 MASCAC) will visit MCLA on Monday at 1 p.m.