BREVARD, N.C. – The Brevard College baseball team (9-5) got back to winning ways on Sunday afternoon as the Tornados defeated Penn State Scranton (0-6), 5-2 and 18-6, in a doubleheader sweep at Gil Coan Field.
 
BC jumped out to a 3-1 lead after two innings, tacked on crucial insurance runs in the middle frames, and held off a ninth-inning rally to defeat the Lions by three in game one. The second game of the twin bill featured an offensive explosion by the Tornados, who scored eight runs in the first inning and closed off the run-rule win with a four-run bottom of the sixth to secure a 12-run triumph.
   
The visitors from Scranton, Pennsylvania scratched across the first run of the afternoon with a sacrifice fly in the top of the first inning. Junior shortstop Nico Bartolotti answered right back in the bottom of the first with a solo home run over the right-field wall, marking the first collegiate long ball of the Lake Wylie, S.C. native's career.
 
The Tornados scored two in the bottom of the second to extend their lead to a two-run margin, as Logan Sawyer ripped a RBI double over the center fielder's head to bring Hunter Busque in, and Moe Love Jr.'s infield single allowed Tyson Hinkle to cross home plate.
 
Matthew Evans (3-1) turned in another effective start on the mound, going six innings without allowing an earned run for his third win of the season. The Tornado offense backed up their senior right-hander, tacking on insurance scores in the fifth and sixth innings. Senior DH Gavin McCoy pulled a single through the left side of the infield to score Davis Anders in the fifth, and Love Jr. connected with a a double to left that plated Sawyer in the sixth.
 
Kalen Milstead notched his third save of the season with a three-inning effort out of the bullpen to close the door on the win for BC.
 
Sawyer surged for a 3-for-4 effort at the plate with two doubles, a run scored, and a RBI. Busque, Gavin Grant, and Love Jr. all tallied multi-hit efforts as well for Brevard.
   
For the second-straight contest, the visitors scored the first run of the game on an infield groundout. BC answered in a big way, scoring eight runs on three base hits with two Lion errors in the bottom of the first to take a seven-run advantage.
 
The Lions took advantage of two Tornado errors in the top of the third to score two runs, trimming the deficit down to five. An Anders RBI double and a McCoy RBI single in the bottom of the third put BC back up by seven, 10-3.
 
Penn State Scranton scored a run off a BC error in the top of the fourth, but the Tornados responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Up by eight runs entering the bottom of the sixth, the Tornados scored four more and shut the Lions down in the top of the seventh for the run-rule win.
 
Bartolotti exploded for a 4-for-5 effort with a double, three RBI, and two runs scored. Anders went 3-for-5 with a double, three runs scored, and an RBI as well, while Hinkle and Sawyer notched two-hit efforts. The Tornados as a team stole six bags in the dominant win.
 
Kaden Tuten did not surrender an earned run and struck out three batters in three and one-third innings of work, while Colin Weathers (2-0) secured his second win of the season with two and two-thirds innings, striking out three batters. Aaron Burchett tossed a scoreless seventh to finish the win off.
 
Brevard is back at home on Tuesday at 2 p.m. to face Toccoa Falls.
 
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