BREVARD, N.C. – The Brevard College Baseball team (1-7, 0-2 USAS) dropped game two of a three-game series vs. the defending regular-season USA South Conference champion Piedmont (5-3, 0-2 USAS) by the score of 13-6 on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Gil Coan Field.
The contest was part of the Gil Coan Memorial Series to honor the legacy of Brevard College alumnus and legend Gil Coan Sr., '41.
Four Tornados registered multi-hit games en route to the six-run offensive output for Brevard. Sophomore shortstop Jason Jucker went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two walks. Senior outfielder Johnny Flynn was 2-for-5 with two RBI. Sophomore catcher Brett Burchett and senior outfielder Donny Carsillo also recorded two hits. In addition, Jucker and outfielder junior Beau Shealy scored two runs.
Freshman third baseman Brandin Johnson, the reigning USA South Conference Rookie of the Week, hit BC's lone extra-base hit, an RBI-double in the bottom of the third inning.
Trailing 5-0 in the bottom of the third, Jucker and Shealy led off the frame with back-to-back walks. With one out, Johnson then blasted a double to the right-field wall that scored Jucker and advanced Shealy to third. Daiquon Davenport, who hit his first career home run in game one of the series on Friday, then recorded his first sacrifice fly as a Tornado to drive in Shealy. Later in the inning, Johnson would then score on a passed ball to give BC three runs in the frame and cut the deficit to two runs.
Piedmont, however, added two more runs in the fifth inning and two runs in the sixth to take a 10-3 lead. BC would cut into the Lions' lead once again with two runs in the sixth on a 2-RBI single by Flynn that scored Jucker and Carsillo followed by an RBI-ground out by Davenport to score Shealy.
The Lions tacked on three more insurance runs with a run in the eighth and two in the ninth to put away the victory.
Junior Ben Melton (0-2) earned the start and took the loss for the Tornados allowing seven runs on five hits over 4.1 innings with six strikeouts, two of which came with the bases loaded for the Lions. BC freshman Nathan Sanders was strong in long relief going a career-long 4.2 innings, allowing just two earned runs on five hits.
The series concludes on Sunday with game three of the Gil Coan Memorial Series. The Tornados will host Piedmont at 1 p.m. at Gil Coan Field on the campus of Brevard College.
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-BC-