BUENA VISTA, Va. - The Brevard College baseball team (4-13, 0-1 USA South) were walked off by Southern Virginia (3-8, 1-0 USAS) in the bottom of the ninth, leading to a 4-2 defeat in the USA South Conference opener on Friday afternoon in Buena Vista, Virginia.
BC used a ninth-inning rally to tie the contest at two runs apiece, after trailing by one entering the frame. In the bottom of the inning, Aaron Burchett (0-1) and the Tornado defense forced two quick outs, but a walk was followed up by a game-winning, two-run homer down the line in left, as Ben Agnew lifted the Knights to their first conference win of the season.
After five scoreless innings to start the game as BC's Zack Wilson and SVU's Zack Geertsen kept each team off the board, Brevard broke through in the top of the sixth as Cale Oehler singled home Logan Sawyer to give BC a one-run edge.
The Knights were able to respond in the bottom of the seventh, chasing Wilson out of the game while utilizing an RBI double and sacrifice fly to take a 2-1 edge.
Neither side scored in the eighth, but BC put together a rally in the top of the ninth. Easton King drew a leadoff walk and pinch-runner Kyle Andrew advanced to second on a wild pitch. With two outs in the inning, CP Pyle delivered a clutch RBI single that played Andrew and tied things up at two runs each. A fielder's choice, however, prevented more damage than that as the Knights' offense went to work in the bottom of the frame.
SVU's two-out walk and walk-off homer ended things, as the Knights escaped with a conference-opening victory.
Both sides left plenty of runners on the basepaths during the contest, as each team stranded 10 aboard.
Oehler went 3-for-4 to lead Brevard at the dish, with Pyle logging a double and an RBI. Luke Morton and Sawyer also collecting a pair of base knocks each, while Frankie Vasquez recorded a double.
Brevard fell despite another quality start by Wilson on the mound. The Brevard native hurled 6.1 innings with nine hits and two earned runs allowed while also being credited with a strikeout.
The Tornados and Knights will run it back tomorrow with a doubleheader on deck, beginning at 12 p.m.
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-BC-
