BREVARD, N.C. – The Brevard College baseball program (22-17) is primed for its first-ever appearance in the USA South Conference Baseball Championship Series, as the Tornados face off against top-seeded North Carolina Wesleyan University (31-11) with an automatic berth into the 2024 NCAA DIII Baseball Championship Tournament at stake this Friday and Saturday at Bauer Field in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Game one is slated for Friday at 5 p.m., while the second contest will take place on Saturday at 2 p.m. A winner-take-all game three will be played on Saturday at approximately 5 p.m. if necessary.
 
The Tornados punched their ticket to the championship series last weekend with consecutive wins (6-4, 5-3) over Pfeiffer University in a three-team, double-elimination bracket hosted by the number-two-seeded BC baseball team at Gil Coan Field, which marked the first home playoff games for the Tornados of the NCAA era.
 
BC opened tournament play with a 9-3 setback to three-seed Methodist University last Thursday, but bounced back with a 6-4 win over Pfeiffer on Friday, setting up a winner-take-all game on Saturday vs. the Falcons.
 
The Tornados used a seven-inning gem from senior right-handed pitcher Cameron Cook (4-2) and a save out of the bullpen from freshman RHP Blake Altschuler to close the door on the two-run win. BC scored a run on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch in the bottom of the first, with a pivotal three-run homer off the bat of Lucas Granata coming in the bottom of the third. Luke Morton added an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth, and the Tornados were able to fend the Falcons off down the stretch to clinch the 5-3 win.
 
Morton, Cale Oehler, Kenny Pridmore, and Logan Sawyer all had two hits apiece as Brevard recorded 12 as a team. Granata led all Tornados with three RBI - logging BC's only extra-base hit of the ballgame - while Brevard overcame a total of 13 runners left on the base paths.
 
Cook struck out a career-high seven batters in his final home contest of his senior season, allowing just five hits and two earned runs. Altschuler logged his first collegiate save, inheriting a bases-loaded jam in the top of the eighth. The Concord, North Carolina native allowed just one runner to cross that inning, and got a pair of Falcons looking in the top of the ninth to book BC's trip to Rocky Mount.
 
As a result of his two-inning save, Altschuler garnered national honors with a selection onto the D3baseball.com Team of the Week. Altschuler, a first-year Tornado from Concord, North Carolina, made his first collegiate relief appearance in last Saturday's 5-3 victory over Pfeiffer that clinched a Bracket 2 win for the Tornados, as Brevard punched its ticket to the USA South Championship held this weekend in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Altschuler inherited a bases-loaded, nobody-out situation and held the Falcons to just one run in the eighth inning, inducing two flyouts and a ground out. In the fateful ninth inning, the righty gave up a one-out single, but got the next two batters he faced with looking strikeouts, as the Tornados wrapped up the two-run win at home.
 
Altschuler has a team-low 5.08 ERA this season in 13 appearances, with all of his first 12 being starts before the postseason relief appearance. Through 62 innings of work this season, the freshman has recorded a team-best 44 strikeouts and is tied with teammates Cameron Cook and Jacob Thompson for the team lead in wins (four).
 
For the Tornados thus far in 2024, junior first baseman and USA South All-Conference Second Team performer Cale Oehler has a team-best .352 batting average, leading alk Tornados with 15 hits, 11 doubles, 20 extra-base hits, 26 walks, a .606 slugging percentage, and a .464 on-base percentage. Frankie Vasquez, who garnered All-Conference First Team accolades, drove in a team-best 53 runs while maintaining a .351 batting average in 37 games played. Senior outfielder Logan Clark leads all Tornados with 40 runs scored and 16 stolen bases.
 
Sporting the best overall and conference record in the USA South, and featuring the league Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, and Coach of the Year in addition to a total of seven USA South All-Conference selections, the Battling Bishops will attempt to claim the USA South Conference Tournament title for the eighth time in program history after securing the regular season crown for the 21^st time in school history earlier this season.
 
Tyler Bass, a senior outfielder from Lucama, North Carolina, becomes the second consecutive and sixth all-time Battling Bishop to earn USA South Baseball Player of the Year. He led the Conference with 16 home runs, 57 runs scored, 126 total bases, and 30 stolen bases. Bass also accumulated a .363 batting average with a .704 slugging percentage, and a .460 on-base percentage to go along with 48 RBI. In USA South games-only, Bass posted a .410 batting average, a .508 on-base percentage, and an .810 slugging percentage while leading the League with 11 home runs, 37 runs scored, 81 total bases, and 18 stolen bases. For his efforts, Bass earns First Team All-Conference accolades for the second time in his career.
 
Cord Butler, a senior from Kannapolis, North Carolina, is the fourth consecutive Battling Bishop to be named USA South Pitcher of the Year. During the regular season, Butler compiled a USA South-best 9-0 record in 12 appearances, all of which were starts, and also led the Conference with 75.0 innings pitched, a 3.36 ERA, and 94 strikeouts. In Conference contests only, Butler posted a perfect 5-0 record with a 4.47 ERA while striking out a League-high 52 batters. This season, he collected First Team All-Conference honors as a pitcher and was named USA South Pitcher of the Week once.
 
In his sixth season at the helm of N.C. Wesleyan, Greg Clifton earned his second-consecutive and third all-time USA South Coach of the Year honor. The Battling Bishops captured the program's fourth straight and 21st all-time USA South Regular Season crown by accumulating a 17-4 Conference record this spring. With an overall record of 28-11, N.C. Wesleyan has been a steady presence within the D3baseball.com/NCBWA national rankings all season and currently sits at 19th.
 
In spite of NCW's national plaudits, the Tornados were not deterred when Brevard visited North Carolina Wesleyan during the regular season, as BC took two out of three from the Battling Bishops, securing the program's first series victory over a nationally-ranked NCAA DIII opponent.
 
The Tornados took the first game on Friday, March 29 over then No. 18 NC Wesleyan by a final of 12-6 in Rocky Mount. Three Tornados recorded multiple hits in the victory, while eight out of BC's nine starting position players notched base hits in the massive USA South Conference victory for Brevard.
 
BC leadoff hitter Lucas Granata went 2-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBI at the top of the order, while eight-hole hitter Kenny Pridmore (2-for-5, two RBI, one RS) and nine-hole hitter Logan Sawyer (2-for-3, two RS) fed the top of the order. Frankie Vasquez led all Tornados with three RBI, while Cale Oehler recorded a two RBI double.
 
Cameron Cook earned the start, lasting four innings allowing five hits and three runs with four strikeouts. Andy Fahringer (3-0) earned the win with three innings, giving up three hits and two runs with five strikeouts. Matthew Evans and Aaron Burchett also earned an inning of work each in the victory.
 
Brevard's offense kept up its hot-hitting ways, using a 10-run frame in game two to secure a massive 18-9 victory and take the series from NC Wesleyan. Senior outfielder Logan Clark exploded with a four-hit performance in the first game of the doubleheader, scoring four runs and adding two RBI. CP Pyle drove in a career-high six RBI, launching his first career home run as a Tornado while going 2-for-2 at the plate with two runs scored. Colston Miller also recorded a multi-hit performance, going 2-for-5, while Logan Sawyer recorded two hits – including a double – with a run scored and three RBI.
 
Junior right-handed pitcher Jacob Thompson got the start for the Tornados, lasting five innings surrendering seven hits, five runs, and striking out two batters. Cesar Rodriguez (1-0) was the pitcher of record for Brevard, going an inning allowing five hits and three earned runs, pitching on the heels of BC's 10-run seventh inning. For the second-straight game, Aaron Burchett closed the door on a nationally-ranked opponent, lasting three innings with five hits and an earned run while recording three strikeouts for his first collegiate save.
 
A late rally by NC Wesleyan in the series finale prevented the Tornados from sweeping the Battling Bishops, as the hosts won by three runs, 12-9, setting up what proves to be an entertaining USA South Championship Series here in mid-May.
 
Live stream and statistics can be found for each contest, courtesy of the NC Wesleyan Athletic Communications Department. Follow along with @BCTornados on social media and BCTornados.com for comprehensive championship coverage.
 
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