BREVARD, N.C. - The Brevard College baseball team (16-12, 5-6 USA South) fell in a pair of hard-fought games to nationally-ranked no. 4 LaGrange College (23-3, 7-1 USAS) on a chilly Saturday afternoon at Gil Coan Field.
The Panthers used a hot start to propel themselves to a 9-1 victory in the first game of the twin bill before taking a 1-0 pitcher's duel in game number two.
GAME ONE - LAGRANGE 9, BREVARD 1
The Panthers were able to score early and often in game number one, taking a 9-1 decision in the front end of the doubleheader.
Brevard, whose offense was held to just a lone run on the afternoon on five total hits between the two contests, racked up four base knocks and a run in game number one. Cale Oehler logged a pair of singles, while Blake Burchett added an extra-base hit in the form of a double. Allison also tallied a single, while Burchett scored BC's lone run of the day.
Matthew Scavotto (3-4) received the ball to start the game, allowing nine hits and eight earned runs with four walks and six strikeouts. The Panthers were able to tag the Tornados staff for a pair of home runs and 13 total hits in the first contest. Jacob Thompson entered in the sixth frame and finished the game for Brevard, logging four innings of four-hit, one-run ball with a pair of K's.
LaGrange's Jack Layrisson and Gabriel Pallo each hit critical Panther home runs in the contest, as five visiting hitters had multi-hit performances.
LaGrange used a three-run bomb in the top of the first and a solo shot in the top of the second to take a 4-0 lead through two frames. The Panthers then used three RBI-singles and a bases-loaded walk to extend their lead even further, 8-0 through five innings played.
Brevard was able to break onto the scoreboard in the top of the sixth as Logan Clark's sacrifice fly made it an 8-1 ballgame.
LaGrange used an RBI single in the top of the eighth to help seal the contest in favor of the visitors, 9-1.
GAME TWO - LAGRANGE 1, BREVARD 0
The second game of the twin bill turned into an instant classic, with the Tornados hanging right with the number four team in the land until the bitter end. Both sides went scoreless through six frames before the Panthers broke onto the board with a go-ahead RBI single in the top of the seventh and rode a complete game from their starting pitcher to victory.
Brevard was held in check, as Clark was the only Tornado to tally a base hit in the contest. Clark broke up a potential no-hit bid in the bottom of the seventh, while also stealing a pair of bases in the game.
Nathan Sanders (4-1) turned in a stellar performance on the mound for Brevard, going six and a third innings with a lone earned run on three hits while striking out a season-best eight batters in the process. Cesar Rodriguez came in midway through the seventh and provided two and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief.
LaGrange logged five hits in the contest, with McKinley Erves driving in the go-ahead run as Rhett Hebert came across to score for the visitors. The Panthers' hero of the contest was starting pitcher Dalton Brooks (4-0) who went the distance allowing just one hit and no runs while also tallying 10 strikeouts for the game. All told, Brooks faced 32 batters and threw 121 pitches in the wire-to-wire effort.
The Tornados and Panthers meet for the final game of the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.
To follow the latest news and updates surrounding Brevard College Athletics, follow the Tornados on Twitter/Instagram @BCTornados, subscribe to 'Brevard College Tornados' on YouTube and SoundCloud, and follow 'Brevard College Tornado Athletics' on Facebook. In addition, follow 'brevardcollege' on Flickr for photos from BC events.
-BC-