BRIDGEWATER, Mass -- The #2 seed Buccaneers, coming into the game 2-0 in the MASCAC tournament, took on #1 Bridgewater State on Saturday after the Bears eliminated Salem State in the first game of the day from Bridgewater. A low-scoring affair through seven innings went the Bears way late in the game as they scored nine in the eighth and ninth to extend the tournament to Sunday, 12-3.

The Basics

Final: Bears 12, Buccaneers 3

Records: Maritime 24-18

               Bridgewater 29-13

On the Mound

Maritime: Chase Dwight (L, 0-4): 2.2 IP | 3 H | 3 R | 3 ER | 2 BB | 3 K

                Sean Hallissey: 4.1 IP | 3 H | 2 R | 2 ER | 5 BB | 5 K

Bridgwater: Cameron Breault (W, 5-1): 4.2 IP | 3 H | 2 R | 2 ER | 0 BB | 4 K

                    Jaden Arruda: 4.1 IP | 2 H | 1 R | 1 ER | 3 BB | 2 K

Inside The Numbers

Maritime

• AJ Pietrafesa led the Bucs with two hits. Damon White, Brett Velzis, and Jake Houston all had one.
• Velzis drove in two runs, and White drove in the third.
• Pietrafesa, Velzis, and Aidan Weir scored the three Maritime runs.
• Velzis had a home run, the only extra-base hit for the Bucs.

Bridgewater

• Scott Emerson led the way with three hits in the win. Philip Messina and Jamie Luna notched two hits, and Ryan Flaherty, Joshua Selander, and DJ Prampin had one hit.
• Emerson drove in five runs in the game. Flaherty knocked in three, Messina had two RBI, and Kevin Lindsey and Selander had one.
• Emerson and Flaherty hit home runs, and Messina had a double.
• Emerson stole a base in the victory.

How It Happened

Bridgewater took a quick two-run lead in the top of the first inning thanks to a two-RBI double from Messina. 

The Bears lead lasted until the third inning when Maritime got a run back on a White single to right that scored Houston. The Buccaneers trailed 2-1 after three. 

In the top of the fifth, Selander singled in Messina to extend the BSU lead back to two runs, 3-1. 

Then, in the bottom of the sixth, Velzis tied the game, 3-3, with a two-run home run, scoring himself and Pietrafesa.

The Bridgewater bats came alive in the eighth and ninth as they scored five in the eighth and four in the ninth. In the eighth, Emerson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score one, Lindsay knocked in a run on a sacrifice fly to right field, and Flaherty hit a three-run home run over the left field fence. The Bears led 8-3 after eight innings.

In the top of the ninth, Emerson hit a grand slam to make the score the eventual final, 12-3.

What's Next

The Buccaneers and Bears will meet again on Sunday in the deciding game of the MASCAC Baseball Championship in Bridgewater at noon.