ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. - The Brevard College baseball team (14-10, 3-5 USA South) were held in check by NC Wesleyan (7-16, 4-4 USAS), dropping two USA South Conference contests 5-1 and 10-3 on Saturday afternoon at Bauer Field.
GAME ONE: NC WESLEYAN 5, BREVARD 1
NC Wesleyan's pitching staff was able to hold the potent Tornado offense to just five hits and one run scored in game one of the twin bill. Despite two first-inning singles for Brevard in the top of the first, the Battling Bishops held the Tornados at bay, escaping the scoring threat.
NCWU took the early lead in the bottom of the first with a two-out, first-pitch home run to left-center field to take a 1-0 edge.
BC got a pair on in the top of the second via an error and a walk, but NCWU was once again able to escape without surrendering a run. The hosts got 1-2-3 frames in the third and fourth innings to limit offensive opportunities for the Tornados, and the Battling Bishops cashed in a leadoff triple with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the fourth to extend the lead to a 2-0 margin.
NCWU sat BC down in order in the fifth and sixth innings, as the Battling Bishops retired 13 straight Tornados through the top of the sixth. Wesleyan then cashed in a leadoff single in the bottom of the sixth with a Banks Hartman RBI double, pushing the lead to 3-0 in favor of the hosts.
Three-consecutive singles to lead off the top of the seventh resulted in BC's first run of the game on an RBI groundout by Kacey Shanks that scored Davis Anders. A lineout and a groundout halted the potential rally, as NCWU maintained its 3-1 advantage.
A two-out RBI double in the bottom of the seventh put Wesleyan back up by three, 4-1, and the Battling Bishops used an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth for a crucial insurance run. After a groundout to start the top of the ninth, Lucas Woodard drew a one-out walk, followed by Shanks who reached on an error. Gavin Grant then walked to load the bases and force a Battling Bishop pitching change.
Jackson Pavone came on in relief and earned the save with a full-count strikeout and a flyout, sealing the four-run victory for the Battling Bishops.
Colby Lewis (2-5) hurled over 100 pitches in
seven innings of work for NC Wesleyan, limiting the Tornados to just five hits and one run while striking out four batters. Hartman and Maison Nance each went 2-for-4 at the dish to lead NCWU's offense.
Kaden Tuten (0-3) was saddled with the loss, logging five innings of work with three runs surrendered on four hits and three strikeouts. Colin Weathers worked out of the pen for Brevard, tossing three innings with four hits, two runs, and four strikeouts.
GAME TWO: NC WESLEYAN 10, BREVARD 3
NC Wesleyan sat Brevard down in order to begin game two, and scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the first on a wild pitch. The hosts tacked on two more runs with a two-RBI single in the bottom of the second, extending their early lead to a three-run margin.
Matthew Evans came on in relief for Kalen Milstead (1-2) in the bottom of the third inning, and held the Battling Bishops off the board in that frame. In the bottom of the fourth, NCWU used an RBI single and a three-run homer to push their lead out to a controlling 7-0 gap.
Bryson Genwright doubled to right to bring Hunter Busque across in the top of the fifth, but that was all the offense the Tornados were able to muster in the frame. NCWU padded its advantage with runs in the fifth, sixth, and eighth innings, and a pair of Tornado runs in the top of the ninth were too late as NCWU finished off the 10-3 triumph.
The Tornados and Battling Bishops will square off in the series finale on Sunday at noon.
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