Baseball holds on to 9-6 victory versus Endicott College

Steven M. Miller Jr, Staff Writer


With a 9-6 victory over Endicott College, the Bears extend their 2-0 record up north. This victory also marks the fifth strait victory versus Endicott going all the way back to the 2000 season.

"I like the fact that we are 2-0 up north," said head coach Rick Smith. "I hope we continue this as we try to concentrate on the conference games this Saturday.

Freshman righthander Ben Altman picked up the victory for the Bears. It was his second appearance of the season as he went 7 2/3 innings allowing 5 runs (2 unearned) on 10 hits. He struck out 1 and walked 3.

I approached Altman after the game and he was pretty speechless about the win. "I just went out there and tried to throw strikes," he said. While Altman is not in the starting rotation, he gives the bullpen a much needed rest as the Bears have two double-headers over the weekend.

Junior leftfielder Steve Smith led the way for the Bears going 3-for-5 with two runs and a pair of runs batted in. Senior centerfer Andrew Dillon also stood out going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI’s and senor DH Dana Hanson finshed 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI.

"Offensively the we had some timely hitting from Andrew Dillon and Steve Smith," said Smith. "Dana Hansen has also been swinging a pretty hot bat for us."

The Bears had an 8-1 lead throughout the entire way, until Endicott made it a game in the 8th inning. After Altman got the first two outs, the Bridgewater defense gave up two errors and allowed baserunners while Altman worked deeper into his 100+ pitch count. Sophomore Dennis Jennette relieved Altman and Endicott strung together four strait hits.

Endicott got another base hit, with the bases loaded, and third baseman Mark Claffey threw the ball away. Firstbaseman, Dave Kiloski, chased after the ball and threw the runner trying for third to end the inning.

The Bears added the insurance run in the bottom frame of the 8th inning and Jennette slamed the door on the game with a 1-2-3 9th inning.

"I think the defense has to get much better (to win games)," said coach Smith.

Bridgewater State takes on league rival Worcester State in a double-header matchup on Saturday. They then play another double header versus Beaker College on Sunday. Both games are at home and start at noontime.

If your interrested, here's the full game recap