BREVARD, N.C. - The Brevard College baseball team (8-5) slugged five home runs en route to a doubleheader split against Averett University (2-9) on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Gil Coan Field.
BC surged for 10 runs, including a pair of round-trippers, on the way to a game two win, 10-2. Averett scored four runs in the top of the sixth inning and held off a late Brevard comeback attempt to claim a 9-7 victory in the front end of the twin bill.
GAME ONE - AVERETT 9, BREVARD 7
Frankie Vasquez kicked off his big afternoon by going 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and the first home run of his collegiate career. Peter Fumero logged a pair of hits, one being the second home run of his career, while Brett Burchett also knocked one out of the park. BC's three home runs in game one on Saturday are its most in a single game since 2016, and are the most that the Tornados have hit in the DIII-era.
Fumero and Cale Oehler totaled two RBI each, and Fumero and Vazquez each scored a pair of runs.
Matthew Scavotto was Brevard's starter, going four innings allowing three earned runs. Jacob Thompson (0-1) was saddled with the loss after a four-run sixth from the Cougars, while Noah Webb pitched a scoreless seventh inning.
Avery Spicer (2-2) was the winning pitcher of record for the Cougars, while Shane Michel earned his first save of the season. The Cougar offense was paced by four multi-hit performances, including a pair of two-run homers from Brandt Brophy and Preston Robbins.
Averett scored first with an RBI single in the top of the second inning. Vasquez and Brett Burchett hit solo home runs in the bottom half of the frame to take a 2-1 lead.
The Cougars put up a pair of the runs in the top of the third before scoring two more in the fourth inning to retake the lead, 5-2.
Oehler drove in a run on an RBI double before Fumero's two-run shot tied things up at 5-5 in the bottom of the inning.
After a scoreless fifth inning, Averett used a pair of two-run homers gave the Cougars a 9-5 lead. Brevard loaded the bases up with two outs, driving in a run on a bases-loaded walk, but a fielder's choice ended the frame.
Brevard got runners on the corners with nobody out in the bottom of the seventh and final inning, scoring one on a fielder's choice, but a groundout and flyout ended game one in favor of Averett, 9-7.
GAME TWO - BREVARD 10, AVERETT 2
Vasquez continued his hot day with a 3-for-4 performance scoring a run and driving in a RBI. Blake Burchett went 2-for-2 with two runs, while Oehler had a team-high three RBI. Oehler and Logan Clark each had two hits, including Oehler's first collegiate homer, and Christian Ezzell hit a two-run shot to center field.
Cameron Cook (2-1) pitched a gem to help Brevard earn the game two win, lasting six inning with two earned runs and four strikeouts. Ethan Coleman pitched a clean seventh frame with a pair of strikeouts.
Oehler drove in the game's first run on a sacrifice fly, taking a 1-0 advantage. The Cougars answered back with an RBI single in the top of the third inning to tie the contest up before Brevard broke the game open with a six-run fourth inning.
Oehler hit a two-run homer to right field before Ezzell followed it up with a two-run shot of his own, making it a 5-1 affair. Brevard scored two more on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly to make it a six-run contest, 7-1.
Averett got a run back in the top of the fifth, but the Tornados pulled away with three scores in the bottom of the sixth inning before Coleman's clean top of the seventh ended the contest in favor of Brevard, 10-2.
Brevard and Averett conclude their three-game series on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Gil Coan Field.
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-BC-