MANSFIELD, Conn. – Senior righty Pat Barnett (Windsor) won his third game in five days, throwing a perfect game through the first six innings in his first start of the year as the Eastern Connecticut State University baseball team won its sixth straight game, a 9-3 non-conference decision over Bridgewater State University Wednesday afternoon at the Mansfield Outdoor Complex.

At right: Gavin Lavallee unloads his first home run of the season in the sixth inning and Pat Barnett (inset) carried a perfect game into the seventh inning in Wednesday's 9-3 victory. (Photo by Heather Avery)

Making the second start of his career, Barnett (3-0) faced the minimum 18 batters through the first six innings and the Warriors led 6-0 before Bridgewater (8-11) broke the spell when the first three batters of the seventh reached safely with singles. Freshman rightfielder Billy Mitchell stroked a 1-1 pitch cleanly up the middle leading off the seventh for the Bears' first hit.

Barnett, who won both ends of  Saturday's Little East Conference doubleheader sweep of Keene State College in a relief role, was charged with one run Wednesday in lowering his earned run average to 1.77. Barnett struck out eight against Bridgewater and left the game after seven innings with a 8-0 lead as Eastern downed Bridgewater for the fifth straight year. All eight of Bridgewater's hits came in its final three at-bats – four in the ninth when it scored twice.

Eastern (13-4) collected 11 hits off five Bridgewater pitchers, scoring single runs in three separate innings before breaking the game open with three in the sixth and two more in the seventh to go up 8-1.

 Batting eighth in the order, sophomore catcher Tim Budd (Cheshire)  led the Warriors with three hits, seniors Brendan Lynch (Wethersfield) and Gavin Lavallee (New Milford) and sophomore Andrew Scully (Stratford) adding two each. Budd drove in the first run of the game with a two-out double after an infield error in the second, and the first-year transfer drove in a run and scored a run in the three-run sixth. Lavallee drove in two runs with his first home run of the year in the sixth and a sacrifice fly in the seventh.

Batting third in the order, junior first baseman Nicholas White matched Mitchell with two hits for the Bears.

For the sixth time in the last nine games, Eastern did not commit an error, raising its fielding percentage to .976.

Eastern hosts Wheaton College (MA) Thursday at 4 p.m. The Lyons are ranked second in New England, No. 23 nationally.