GROTTOES, Va. - The Brevard College baseball team (20-16, 13-8 USA South) used 35 runs over the course of the weekend to blow past Mary Baldwin University (7-29, 2-19 USAS) and clinch home playoff games for the first time in the NCAA era.
Brevard earned a 10-run win 14-4 in the first game of the series on Saturday afternoon before completing the doubleheader with a resounding 14-2 victory. Game three was held on Sunday, as BC used five consecutive runs in the late stages to complete the series sweep with a 7-5 win.
The Tornados, for the first time in BC's NCAA history, will host postseason games at Gil Coan Field. Brevard will host a three-team double-elimination pod for the USA South Conference Baseball Tournament beginning Thursday, May 2.
GAME ONE: BREVARD 14, MARY BALDWIN 4
Following two scoreless innings that got the contest underway, Brevard broke into the score column in the top of the third via a Hayden Jennings RBI double and a Luke Morton two-RBI single. MBU scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame, but the Tornados put the contest away thanks to 11 straight scores from the fifth to the ninth inning.
Logan Clark singled home Logan Sawyer in the top of the fifth, while BC added two runs in the top of the sixth. Cale Oehler broke the career BC NCAA era home run record with a solo big fly in the top of the seventh as the Tornados tacked on two more runs. Brevard recorded a pair of RBI singles in the top of the eighth to stretch its lead to an eight-run margin, 10-2, and BC capped the game off with four runs in the top of the ninth.
CP Pyle had a big game at the dish for Brevard, going 4-for-6 with two runs scored and an RBI. The Tornados recorded five doubles and a home run in game one, racking up 22 total hits in the game. Clark, Jennings, Morton and Oehler all recorded three hits each, with Sawyer and Frankie Vasquez also logging multiple hits.
Jacob Thompson (3-3) hurled a gem on the mound for the Tornados, throwing eight innings of four-hit, two-run ball with three strikeouts. Aaron Burchett also logged an inning of work for the Tornados.
GAME TWO: BREVARD 14, MARY BALDWIN 2
Game two was more of the same from the Brevard offense, as BC scored 14 runs on 18 hits and surged ahead via an eight-run top of the fifth.
Oehler went 3-for-5 with a run scored and two RBI while also recording a pair of doubles. Seven of BC's 18 hits in the contest were extra-base knocks. Colson Miller, Kenny Pridmore, Pyle, Sawyer, and Vasquez all logged two hits each. Cameron Cook (3-2) earned the victory on the bump for Brevard, throwing five innings of three-hit ball with a pair of runs allowed and six strikeouts. Andy Fahringer threw four innings of relief to earn the save, holding the Fighting Squirrels scoreless with three strikeouts.
Vasquez kicked things off in a big way in the top of the first, launching a three-run homer to give Brevard a 3-0 lead early. Mary Baldwin trimmed the deficit to two in the first inning with an RBI double, but the Tornados got that run back with a sacrifice fly in the top of the third.
BC blew the game wide open in the top of the fifth, as Brevard scored eight runs on nine hits - all coming with two outs - as the Tornados sent 13 batters to the plate in total. Oehler kicked things off with a two-out double before Vasquez plated him with an RBI single. Miller launched his sixth home run of the season to continue his hot streak, breaking the game open with a three-run shot that put Brevard up seven, 8-1.
BC's big two-out rally continued with an RBI single from Baylor Wyatt and a Morton RBI double. Oehler drove two more in with a two-RBI double to cap off the massive offensive inning for the Tornados, who found themselves up 12-1.
BC tacked on a pair of runs down the stretch to wrap things up with Vasquez drawing a bases loaded walk and Easton King launching his second career homer as the Tornados wrapped up the 12-run win to cap off Saturday's doubleheader sweep.
GAME THREE: BREVARD 7, MARY BALDWIN 5
A tight game three ensued for the regular season finale as the Tornados found five late runs to come back from a two-run deficit and earn the late win to sweep the series.
Kaden Tuten (1-1) earned his first collegiate win in game, while Matthew Evans nailed down his third save of the season.
On offense for the Tornados, Clark, Pridmore, Pyle, and Vasquez all had multiple hits, with Morton driving in the tying and go-ahead runs in the game with a two-RBI double. Hayden Jennings launched a two-run home run as well in the contest.
The Fighting Squirrels struck first with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third, but Pyle notched an RBI double in the top of the fourth, while Vazquez brought Clark around to score in the top of the fifth, tying the contest at 2-2.
MBU retook the lead in the bottom of the sixth, and added a run in the bottom of the seventh to hold a two-run lead late in game three. However, BC flipped the script in the top of the eighth, as Pridmore collected an RBI single before Morton's two-RBI double. Jennings connected for a two-run big fly in the top of the ninth, giving the Tornados all the insurance they would need in the 7-5 win.
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-BC-
