BREVARD, N.C. - The Brevard College baseball team (1-5) hosts its home and conference-opening series this weekend as the Tornados face off against defending USA South Conference regular-season champion Piedmont College (3-3) this weekend at Gil Coan Field.
The Tornados will open up the series on Friday with a 2 p.m. first pitch against the Lions. The two sides will clash on Saturday at 1 p.m. before closing out the three-game series on Sunday at 1 p.m.
This weekend's series marks the first at Gil Coan Field since the passing of its namesake, Brevard College alumnus and legend Gil Coan Sr., '41. To honor his legacy, BC's home-opening series this weekend will be dubbed the "Gil Coan Memorial Series."
The series is being played alongside Coan's memorial service, which will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22 at First United Methodist Church, 325 N. Broad St., Brevard. A reception will follow in the Fellowship Hall.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests gifts to support the baseball program at Brevard College, 1 College Drive, Brevard, NC 28712. To make a donation to the Brevard College baseball program online, please click here.
Coan played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball for four teams. He had a career batting average of .254 and finished with 39 home runs, 278 RBIs and 83 stolen bases in 918 games.
In 1994, the baseball field at Brevard College was named in his honor. In 2014, the college presented Coan with a plaque, dedicating the field.
To learn more about the life and legacy of BC's Gil Coan Sr., please click here.
Live video and statistics will be provided by clicking here for the entirety of the series.
The Tornados come into this weekend's contests following the first victory of the Mike Victory-era last Saturday at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina. There, BC rallied from one-run down in the top of the seventh inning, tying the contest before scratching across the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning. Brevard shut the door in the bottom half of the extra frame to seal Coach Victory's first W at the helm of the Brevard Baseball program.
The Tornados accumulated a grand total of 17 hits in Saturday's second contest, a total that marks BC's highest hit total since Brevard amassed 18 base hits on March 30, 2019, against Greensboro College.
Sophomore infielder Jason Jucker accounted for four of BC's massive hit count, striking for an RBI and a double as well. Jucker joined Brett Burchett (two hits), Daiquon Davenport (two hits), Christian Ezzell (three hits), Brandin Johnson (two hits) and Beau Shealy (three hits) as one of six Tornados to log a multiple-hit performance.
Burchett sparked Brevard's offense midway through the contest, lifting a two-run homer down the left-field line. Ezzell and Shealy each accounted for three hits apiece, as Ezzell scored two runs while Shealy logged two RBI's - including the eventual game-winner. Johnson's afternoon was highlighted by a bases-clearing triple, while Davenport scored three runs and hit a pair of doubles en route to a two-RBI day.
Following BC's performance over the weekend at Guilford College, the Tornados swept the USA South Baseball Rookie weekly awards. Samuel Goude was selected as the USA South Baseball Rookie Pitcher of the Week, while Brandin Johnson was tabbed the USA South Baseball Rookie Player of the Week.
Goude, a freshman right-handed pitcher from Georgetown, South Carolina, earned his first collegiate victory in BC's first win of 2020 on Saturday afternoon against Guilford. Goude worked 3.1 innings against the Quakers, allowing just three hits and shutting out Guilford while notching a strikeout in the process.
Johnson, a freshman infielder from Macon, Georgia, went a combined 4-for-12 (.333) with a .385 on-base percentage and a .583 slugging percentage offensively for BC. He sparked Brevard's offense with a bases-clearing, three-RBI double in the Tornados' 12-11 extra-inning victory over the Quakers. All told, Johnson totaled three runs scored, three RBI, one double, one triple and one stolen base in the series.
Entering this weekend's three-game set, BC's Jucker leads the Tornado offense with nine hits, two of which have been of the extra-base variety. Junior newcomer Davenport has scored a team-best five runs, while Johnson's four RBI's lead all Tornados. Burchett has launched BC's lone home run thus far in 2020. Burchett has launched BC's lone home run thus far in 2020.
Senior right-hander Kross Robinson has anchored the pitching staff with two solid starts striking out 16 batters through his two outings in 2020. Relievers Jakob Dennis and Goude have yet to allow an earned run through the early goings of the season.
Piedmont comes into this weekend with a 3-3 record on the season after its most recent victory, a 4-1 triumph over Oglethorpe University. PC's Jonathan Burkett has paced the Lion offense with 10 hits, while Kyle DeJesus' six RBI's lead all batters.
After the conclusion of this weekend's home series, BC will make a one-game appearance in non-conference play before returning to USA South competition. The Tornados will square off against local WNC-area opponent Montreat College on the road on Wednesday, February 26 at 2 p.m. in Montreat, North Carolina. Brevard will then play a three-game series over the course of three days in Rocky Mount, North Carolina against N.C. Wesleyan College, beginning on Friday, February 28 at 2 p.m.
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-BC-