Eight Run Eighth Sinks Vikings

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Bridgewater State broke open a 1-0 game, scoring eight runs in the eighth inning to defeat Salem State, 9-0 in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) contest against. Salem State on Friday afternoon at Alumni Park. Senior righthander Matthew Seavey (North Attleboro, Mass.) tossed eight shutout innings to lead the Bridgewater State. The Bears improve to 18-7 on the season and 5-2 in the MASCAC, while the visiting Vikings fall to 6-16 overall and 3-4 in conference play. 

Seavey (2-2) scattered four hits, walked four and struck out seven to earn his second win of the season. He also hit two batters. Junior right fielder Jay Wladkowski (Norwood, Mass.) went 3-for-5 with a home run, a pair of doubles, two runs and three RBI to pace the Bears' 11-hit attack. Sophomore righty Bobby Jellison (Salem, Mass.) pitched very well in the setback for Salem State. Jellison (1-4) allowed just one unearned run on three hits over six innings with a pair of walks and four strikeouts. He also hit a batter.

The Bears capitalized on a pair of SSU errors to push across an unearned run in the third. The score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the eighth as the two teams combined to strand 14 runners on base over the first 7 ½ innings,

In the home half of the eighth, the BSU offense exploded for eight runs to put the game out of reach. The Bears sent 12 batters to the plate in the inning. Wladkowski doubled and scored on an RBI single by freshman third baseman Riley Thornell (Wareham, Mass.) to start the rally. After a Salem error put runners on second and third, freshman designated hitter Joshua Selander (Granby, Conn.) slapped a two-run single up the middle to extend the lead to 4-0. An RBI single by junior catcher Eric Longley (Mansfield, Mass.) followed by a squeeze bunt base hit by Lindsay and a sacrifice fly off the bat of sophomore second baseman Scott Emerson (Peabody, Mass.) made it a 7-0 game. Wladkowski then belted a two-run homer over the right-centerfield fence to cap off the scoring. The home run marked Wladkowski's first of the season. 

BSU senior righthander Tyler Dasilva-Medeiros (Taunton, Mass.) worked around a lead off single to close out the game in the top of the ninth. 

Freshman right fielder Chris Simone (Milford, Conn.) reached safely three times to lead the Viking offense. Simone singled and walked twice in four trips to the plate.

(Courtesy Bridgewater State Sports Information)