BREVARD, N.C.- A five hit, five RBI performance from Brayden Morris (Pulaski, Va.) powered the Brevard College Tornados (9-23, 2-10 SAC) to victory 19-8 in a midweek contest against the Toccoa Falls Screaming Eagles.
The five hits collected by Morris at the plate tied him for first in school history for hits in a contest. Morris holds the distinction with minor leaguer Champ Stuart and Jackie Corn who both collected five hit contests against Carson-Newman and Eric Renegar whose five base knock outing against Briarcliff in 2012 puts him atop the list.
The Tornados offense matched Scudder step for step by tallying an impressive 19 hits. Morris led the offense as he recorded five hits in five plate appearances while driving in five runs. Five different Tornados collected two hits and two RBIs on the afternoon.
Seniors Kyle Morrison (Greensboro, N.C.) and Blaine Durham (Westfield, N.C.) each recorded two hits and two RBIs on the afternoon while freshman Ryan Roon (Dallas, Ga.) added in two hits and two RBIs of his own.
Freshman Joe Nelms (Malabar, Fla.) continued his hot streak at the plate, notching two hits on the afternoon as he's hit safely in twelve of the last thirteen games for the Tornados.
An eight run second inning for the Brevard provided the difference in the contest. After trailing 2-1, the Tornados used four hits to tack on eight runs and silence the Eagles.
After an RBI walk from Kahn to even up the score, Morrison singled to center field to bring home two and double the score on Toccoa Falls. Brevard would use a 2-RBI double from Morris and RBI singles from Durham and Roon to cap off the scoring.
The Tornados would put runs on the board for the first six innings as a single from Morris and a fielder's choice from Tyler Konzen (Orlando, Fla.) brought home two more runs for the Tornados in the bottom half of the third.
A single from Kahn in the fourth and a double from Durham in the fifth would bring across two more runs as the Tornados grew their lead to 13-2.
With no end in sight, The Tornados continued their commanding performance at the plate in the sixth inning. Matt Lynch (Hartsville, S.C.) doubled home Schuyler Martire (Pine Brush, N.Y.) before Morris collected his fifth and final RBI of the afternoon on a single to the left side.
Tyler Konzen finished up the scoring in the sixth with a sacrifice fly to bring home Lynch.
The Screaming Eagles would use two singles and a double in the top half of the seventh to tack on three runs and cut into the Tornados lead.
Brevard wasted no time returning the favor as a two-RBI single from Cam Dotson (Brevard, N.C.) and an RBI-single from Parker Hubbard (Salisbury, N.C.) in the bottom of the eighth put a three spot on the scoreboard and finished off the scoring on the afternoon for the Tornados.
Toccoa Falls drove home three more runs in the ninth inning to bring the game to its final score of 19-8.
Senior Teke Scudder (Cornell, Ill.) was given the nod on the mound for the Tornados. Scudder's seven inning outing featured five runs, two earned and ten hits while striking out one. The Cornell, Ill. native silenced the bats of the Screaming Eagles for five straight innings as he did not allow a run from the second inning through the sixth. Scudder moves to 2-5 on the year, recording his longest outing of the season.
In his first outing of the season, sophomore Caleb Kneece (Pelion, S.C.) hurled a scoreless and hitless inning of relief for Brevard.
The Tornados will seek their first South Atlantic Conference series win of the season this week as they host Mars Hill on Friday, March 31 at 3:00pm.
