By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University baseball will need a three-game winning streak this weekend to keep its season going.
The Bears, who have won an unprecedented three straight Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference tournaments, have dropped into the loser's bracket.
Top-seeded BSU (27-13) fell to 1-1 in the tournament with a 10-0 loss to the second-seeded Massachusetts Maritime Academy (24-17) at Alumni Park on Friday.
The Bears will play an elimination game at home against fifth-seeded Salem State University at noon Saturday with the winner moving to the championship round at 3 p.m. against Mass. Maritime.
An "if necessary" game would be played at Alumni Park on Sunday at noon in the double-elimination tourney. The Buccaneers are one win away from their first conference tourney title.
The Bears had won 10 straight MASCAC tourney games before losing to the Buccaneers. Their last loss came on May 9, 2019 against Fitchburg State, 13-12.
BSU has managed just nine hits in two tournament games and is on a 16-inning scoreless streak since taking a 5-0 lead over Salem State in the second inning of the opening game Thursday afternoon.
The Bears are averaging eight runs and 10.5 hits in 40 games this season.
Mass. Maritime starter Sam Huffman (Guilford, Conn.) had a season-high 11 strikeouts in six inning while giving up just two hits. The senior improved to 8-1.
"Their guy didn't give us anything," said BSU coach Greg Zackrison. "Guys were swinging and missing a little bit and we didn't hit many balls hard.
"It was a little bit of a carryover from yesterday. We didn't hit a lot of balls hard yesterday, either. It's a bad time to slump."
The lone hits by the Bears were a single through the ride side in the second by senior Philip Messina (Dunkirk, N.Y.), a sixth-inning single by senior Brendan Flaven (Taunton, Mass.) and a ninth-inning single by junior Ryan Flaherty (Duxbury, Mass.).
BSU had two runners on base only in the sixth, seventh and ninth innings against Huffman and senior reliever Nick Iannone (Cheshire, Conn.), who gave up a hit and fanned three in the final three innings for his first save.
The Buccaneers had a 4-0 lead three innings into the game against BSU senior starter Shane Handrahan (Raynham, Mass.), who fell to 4-2.
Handrahan went four innings, giving up five runs and seven hits with four strikeouts before three relievers followed.
Mass. Maritime led, 2-0, scoring both runs with two outs in the first.
Senior Brett Velzis (Cypress, Texas) had an RBI double, stole third and scored on a single by freshman Colsen Loughren (Cape Coral, Fla.).
The lead doubled in the third as graduate student Aaron Cole (Sandwich, Mass.) singled, went to second on a sacrifice bunt and to third on a groundout. BSU intentionally walked Velzis, the MASCAC Player of the Year, and Loughren doubled to left-center for two runs.
Mass. Maritime went up, 5-0, in the fourth on a two-out RBI single by Cole after a double by junior Michael Logiudice (Bridgewater, Mass.).
The Buccaneers scored five more runs in the seventh with just two hits.
Sophomore Damon White (Buzzards Bay, Mass.) drew a bases-loaded walk and senior AJ Pietrafesa (Harwinton, Conn.) singled in two runs. An outfield error on the play brought in another run and Velzis added a sacrifice fly for a run.
It marks the third time this season and the first since March 9 that BSU was shutout.
Now they need to come out of the loser's bracket in order to make it four MASCAC titles in a row to reach the NCAA Division III tournament again.
"I think we'll be alright," said Zackrison. "When we got beat up at Worcester one game (a 20-1 loss on April 19), we went on a little streak afterwards (winning nine of 10). I think we'll respond alright.
"The position we're in, we're built for. I still have a couple of starters and a fully loaded bullpen ready to go."
Salem State stayed alive with a 5-2 win over Framingham State on Friday in a game played at Mass. Maritime.
The Bears are 4-0 against the Vikings this season, winning all three in the regular season and the tourney opener. Salem State is 2-1 in the tournament.