Box Score BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (courtesy BSU sports information) – Behind the bat and arm of senior Pat Nicholson (E. Walpole, Mass./Walpole), the Brandeis University baseball team held on for a 6-5 victory over host Bridgewater State University on Thursday afternoon at Alumni Park in Bridgewater.
Brandeis (8-7) plated three runs in the third inning and three more in the fourth to jump out to a 6-0 lead.
A sacrifice fly by junior 2B Sean O'Hare (Southampton, Mass./Hampshire Regional) and a Nicholson two-run double highlighted the Judges' three-run third.
In the fourth, back-to-back doubles from sophomore RF
Andrew Cohen (Beverly Hills, Calif./Montclair Prep) and rookie SS
Dom Schwartz (San Francisco, Calif./Lowell) made it 4-0 in favor of the visitors. One out later, O'Hare knocked in his second run of the game with a double and then came around to score on an RBI single by junior 3B
Jon Chu (Hollis Hills, N.Y/Bronx H.S. of Science).
After Brandeis senior John McGrath (New York, N.Y./Trevor Day) held BSU hitless through the first four innings, Bridgewater finally broke through in the fifth as Josh Ferreira (Fall River, MA) and Keane Costa (Fairhaven, MA) hit back-to-back home runs. Ferreira belted a two-run blast over the right-centerfield fence. Costa then followed with an inside-the-park homer, the first in Alumni Park history.
The Bears scored twice in the eighth on a wild pitch and a two-out bases loaded walk to John Garabedian (Mansfield, MA). Nicholson, the Judges fifth pitcher of the inning, gave up the walk to Garabedian but then got Ferreira to ground out to avoid any further damage. Nicholson also tossed a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his second save of the season.
McGrath (2-0) worked seven plus innings, giving up four runs on five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts to earn the win.
Matt Melia (East Sandwich, MA) suffered the loss for the Bears. Melia went four innings allowing all six runs on eight hits with one strikeout.
Sophomore catcher
Chris Ferro (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) paced the Judges 12-hit attack as he went 3-for-5 at the plate. Nicholson, Schwartz and senior CF
Tony Deshler (Pepperell, Mass./Lawrence Acad.) added two hits apiece.
The Judges return to action on Monday afternoon at 3 p.m. when they play host to Salem State University in their first game of the season on Marcus Field.
