No. 2 Bridgewater State Tops No. 1 Salem State 4-2 in MASCAC Championship

SALEM, Mass. --  Bridgewater State starter Shane Handrahan (Raynham, Mass.) pitched seven solid innings and Scott Emerson (Peabody, Mass.) went 3-for-4 to lead the No. 2 seed Bears to their third consecutive Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Baseball Tournament championship with a 4-2 victory over No.1 seed Salem State on Saturday afternoon at The Central Campus Baseball Field. Bridgewater State (26-16) earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will await their seeding next week. The Vikings conclude their season 23-15.

Handrahan improved to 5-1 on the year, allowing two runs on six hits with a pair of walks and two strikeouts. Salem State's Bobby Jellison (Salem, Mass.) took the loss, giving up four runs on seven hits with a walk and two strikeouts in 5.1 innings pitched. CJ Hess (Providence, R.I.) earned his first save of the season with two innings of work. Emerson, who batted .571 with six runs scored and three RBI, was named tournament MVP.   

The Bears managed a run in the first after a lead-off single by Emerson and walk to Kevin Lindsay (East Bridgewater, Mass.) put two runners on. A groundout moved the runners and Steven Simon (Hanover, Mass.) brought home Emerson with a sacrifice fly to short rightfield that was handled by the second baseman. 

Salem State scored twice in the third as three consecutive hits loaded the bases. James Dolan (Rockland, Mass.) was then hit by a pitch before a single to right center by Antonio Belgrove (Stamford, Conn.) brought home Yabdriel Gonzalez (New Haven, Conn.) with the Vikings' second run. However, Jake Boucher (Wallingford, Conn.) was thrown out at home on the paly and Bridgewater State escaped further damage.

The Bears tied the game in the fourth on an RBI double by Joe Frechette (Plymouth, Mass.). Later, back-to-back singles to start the sixth for the Bears and a sacrifice bunt, led to a pitching change by Salem State as Nolan Currier (Maynard, Mass.) entered. A two-run double into the leftfield corner by Joshua Selander (Granby, Conn) allowed Bridgewater State to reclaim a 4-2 lead.

Handrahan exited after the seventh, giving way to Hess, who locked up the win despite allowing two ninth inning walks to Salem State, before getting the final out on a pop up to short.

Selander finished 2-for-3 with two RBI for the Bears while Yabdriel Gonzalez (New Haven, Conn.) and Boucher each had multi-hit games for the Vikings.