ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. - Junior catcher Christian Ezzell went 4-for-5 with a career-best five RBI's and a two-run homer to help the Brevard College baseball team (2-10, 1-4 USAS) take the first game of a USA South Conference doubleheader against NC Wesleyan College on Saturday afternoon in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
BC claimed its first conference triumph of the 2020 campaign with an 8-2 victory in the first game before dropping a 12-2 decision in the back end of the twin bill.
The pitching duo of Bryce Foster and Huntley Hacker helped keep the Battling Bishop offense in check through the first contest. Foster started the game, pitching three innings of two-hit, shutout ball, striking out a batter. Hacker came in and went the distance, throwing six innings of five-hit, two-run ball while fanning three batters.
GAME ONE: BREVARD 8, NC WESLEYAN 2
From the onset of the contest, BC's offense got going in the right direction. Jason Jucker led off the game with a single that was immediately followed by Zachary Allison drawing a walk, putting two runners on with nobody out. JJ Wilkes stepped up and roped a single to right field, scoring Jucker to put the Tornados up, 1-0. Following back-to-back outs, Ezzell drove in the first of his five runs, singling home Allison to push BC's advantage to a 2-0 margin.
Foster forced two quick outs in the bottom half of the first inning and worked around a two-out walk to send the Tornado bats back up to the plate. Brevard was able to load the bases up via a trio of walks in the top of the second frame, but back-to-back strikeouts ended the threat.
The Battling Bishops opened up the bottom of the second inning with a single but were unable to cash in as Foster shut the door to keep BC up by two runs.
Daiquon Davenport kicked off the third inning with a ringing double to center field that was immediately followed by an Ezzell RBI-single, pushing up Brevard's lead to a 3-0 margin.
Foster put a bow on his outing in the bottom of the third inning, working through a leadoff double to keep the shutout intact, as the Tornados maintained their 3-0 advantage.
Brevard went down in order in the fourth inning, ending a stretch of three-consecutive innings with runs scored. After Hacker's solid bottom half of the fourth inning, Ezzell drove in his third run of the afternoon - an RBI-double to right field that scored Davenport. Freshman outfielder Cade Stecher singles home Ezzell to push BC's lead to a five-run cushion.
After Davenport drew a leadoff walk in the top of the seventh frame, Ezzell drilled a two-run homer to left field, extending Brevard's lead to 7-0. The Battling Bishops put a runner on in the bottom half of the frame, but a double play erased any threat of the hosts scoring.
The Tornados were able to scratch across an extra insurance run in the top of the eighth inning when Jucker scored on a wild pitch, giving Brevard an 8-0 advantage.
NC Wesleyan was able to scratch across one run in the eighth and ninth innings each, however, Hacker was able to shut the door and clinch BC's first conference win of the season, 8-2, over NC Wesleyan.
Jucker and Wilkes joined Ezzell with multi-hit performances, while Davenport scored three runs and recorded an extra-base hit. Stecher and Wilkes each tallied an RBI while Jucker came across to score twice.
GAME TWO: NC WESLEYAN 12, BREVARD 2.
Junior right-hander Ben Melton (0-3) earned the starting nod in the backend of the doubleheader, lasting four innings while letting up three earned runs on eight hits. Nathan Sanders and Alex Winchester each saw action in relief in the contest.
Allison, John Burton III, Donny Carsillo, Ezzell, and Zach Wolfe each recorded hits in game two - as Allison and Burton III collected their first collegiate hits in the game. Wolfe's double marked the only extra-base hit for the Tornados in the game.
NC Wesleyan took control of the game early, scoring one run in both the first and second innings before striking for a pair of runs in the third frame off a BC error. The Battling Bishops tacked on a run in the fifth before extending their lead to an 8-0 margin after a three-run sixth frame.
Jucker was able to score Jack Atkinson in the top of the eighth inning on a fielder's choice, cutting NCWC's lead to 8-1. Four-consecutive runs out the contest at a 12-1 score in favor of the hosts before BC tacked on a run on a wild pitch, making the score 12-2.
The Tornados will search for the series victory on Sunday when Brevard meets NC Wesleyan for the series finale. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
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-BC-