DEMOREST, Ga. - The Brevard College baseball team (14-9, 3-3 USA South) dropped a high scoring affair, 12-11, to Piedmont University (10-10-1, 2-1 USAS) on Sunday afternoon at Loudermilk Field in Demorest, Georgia.
The Tornados battled back from a 7-2 deficit to take a 10-9 lead before the Lions scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth and held on to the one-run lead through the final three innings to claim the victory.
Cale Oehler went 2-for-3 with two home runs - including a grand slam - while Zach Allison produced a 2-for-5 outing with a pair of RBIs. Oehler drove in six RBIs in an impressive outing for the Charlotte, North Carolina native to lead all Tornado sluggers.
Brevard set the single-game program record stolen-base mark (9) in the contest, with nine stolen bases as Blake Burchett swiped three stolen bags to extend his conference lead to 25 stolen bases.
Noah Aaron and Alex Gonzales had three hits apiece for the Lions in a 17-hit effort by the hosts.
Cameron Cook got the ball to start things off for the Tornados, giving up five earned runs in two innings. Bryce Bowers (3-1) was handed the loss after three and two-thirds innings of work, allowing nine hits and five earned runs with three strikeouts. Noah Webb came on in relief and turned in two and a third innings of two hit, shutout work with a strikeout. Kyle York (2-0) earned the win for the Lions with an inning of relief, while Carter Ballstadt earned his fourth save of the season.
Aaron hit a solo bomb in the bottom of the first before Oehler's two-run shot gave BC a 2-1 advantage in the top of the second. The Lions scored four runs in the second inning and a pair of runs in the third frame to take a commanding 7-2 advantage.
Brevard used four runs in the top of the fourth to bring it to a one-run affair, 7-6, before Piedmont used three runs in the bottom of the fifth to extend the lead to a four-run margin, 10-6.
Oehler's grand slam tied the contest at 10 all before Allison's RBI single gave Brevard the slim lead, 11-10.
A pair of Lion runs in the bottom of the sixth proved to be the difference, with Brevard held scoreless over the course of the final three frames.
Brevard returns to play with a three-game road trip to Lookout Mountain, Georgia for a three-game set vs. Covenant College, beginning with a Friday afternoon matchup on the road at 3 p.m.
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-BC-