BREVARD, N.C. – The Brevard College baseball team (7-4) used a six-run sixth inning to come from behind in game two against Guilford College (4-4), as the Tornados salvaged a doubleheader split against the Quakers on Sunday afternoon at Gil Coan Field.
The Tornados rallied from three behind late in game number two to earn the series split, as Brevard racked up six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to clinch the comeback 8-6 victory. Guilford used a 16-1 scoring stretch in game number one to take down the Tornados in a high-scoring affair, 17-12.
GAME TWO – BREVARD 8, GUILFORD 6
Trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning, the BC baseball team staged a dramatic comeback, using six hits and a Guilford error to plate six runs and flip the script.
Freshman left-handed pitcher and reigning USA South Conference Baseball Rookie Pitcher of the Week Connor Crosby (3-0) went the distance for BC in the seven-inning contest, notching six strikeouts in seven innings of work allowing 10 hits and six Quaker runs.
Blake Burchett, Brett Burchett, and Lucas Granata all tallied two hits apiece for the Tornados, with Brett Burchett and Granata both scoring two runs each while Blake Burchett scored a run and tallied his 13th stolen base of the season – a mark that leads the entire country at the NCAA DIII ranks. Zach Allison added an RBI double and scored a run, while junior transfer Riley Hochrine drilled a two-RBI triple to right field.
Guilford was led offensively in game two by Allden Horne who went 3-for-3 at the plate with a pair of RBIs, while Isaiah Hairston and Michael Sumner logged two hits apiece. Guilford starter Jacob Ray went five innings allowing four runs on six hits before Ty Clark (0-2) was saddled with the loss, surrendering four runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Guilford struck quickly in the top of the first inning, as Hairston cashed in a leadoff infield single with a double to center field. Horne followed suit with his own RBI double, giving the visitors an early 2-0 edge.
The Quakers tacked on two more runs in the top of the third with a pair of RBI singles before BC got into the scoring column in the bottom of the fourth inning. With runners at first and second, Hochrine reached on a fielder's choice as a ball sailed into the outfield as GC attempted to turn a double play. This miscue allowed Brett Burchett and Granata to come around and score, as the Tornados cut the deficit to two runs, 4-2.
After a scoreless fifth inning, Guilford notched its third RBI double of the contest as Chase Wade split the right-center field gap to score Horne, giving the Quakers an insurance run as the guests held a 5-2 lead with six outs to get.
Granata kicked off the comeback bid with a leadoff single followed by Brett Burchett's single up the middle. These consecutive hits chased Ray out of the ballgame as the Quakers turned to the bullpen. Hochrine, a junior transfer by way of Lander University, went opposite field with a two-RBI triple that brought Granata and Brett Burchett around to score cutting the deficit to just one run with nobody out. The Tornados pinch ran for Hochrine with senior outfielder Joc Pledger and the Monroe, Georgia native was promptly brought in to score by Allison's RBI double as Brevard tied the ballgame up 5-5.
Blake Burchett kept the rally going with a single and a stolen base, and Logan Clark put the ball in play with one out as Guilford's defense committed its third error of the ballgame as Allison and Blake Burchett were brought around to score. With two outs and Clark on first base, sophomore third baseman Frankie Vasquez lofted a single to center field on a hit-and-run, and heads-up baserunning from Clark added an insurance run for the Tornados, who found themselves up by three runs heading into the final inning of play.
Guilford used a one-out double and a single up the middle to cut the deficit to two runs, 8-6, but Crosby forced a 5-4-3 double play that clinched the two-run victory for the Tornados, as Brevard split the series with Guilford.
GAME ONE – GUILFORD 17, BREVARD 12
With Brevard holding a 10-run lead, 11-1 after two innings of play, Guilford pulled off an impressive comeback scoring 16 of the game's next 17 runs to earn a game-one victory 17-12.
Six Quakers tallied multi-hit performances while Guilford hit four home runs and tallied seven extra-base hits in the contest. Nick Boles led the way with a 3-for-5 performance that included a home run, two runs scored, and an RBI. Guilford's Reese Baker (1-0) impressed in relief to earn the win, going three innings with two hits and a run allowed.
Five Tornados logged multi-hit games, as Granata went 3-for-4 with a run scored and three RBIs. Sophomore first baseman Cale Oehler went 2-for-3 at the dish with a solo home run, two runs scored, and matched Granata's three RBI output. Blake Burchett stole two bases and had two hits with two RBIs, while Luke Morton and Vasquez had one double each in their two-hit performances.
After Guilford used an RBI double in the first to take a 1-0 lead, Brevard scored 11 unanswered runs in the bottom of the first and second innings to open up an 11-1 lead after two innings played. Guilford used a two-run homer in the third to cut the deficit to eight before the Quakers erupted for five runs in the top of the fourth inning, cutting the deficit to three runs, 11-8. Oehler's second HR of the season and sixth of his young Tornado career pushed BC's lead back up to four runs, but Guilford used a sacrifice fly and a three-run homer from Rylan Smith to tie things up in the top of the fifth, 12-12.
The Quakers' bullpen continued to shut Brevard down before a pivotal top of the sixth inning where a Horne solo home run kickstarted a two-run inning for Guilford. The visitors used two hits and two costly Tornado errors in the top of the seventh to pad their newfound lead, as the Quakers took a five-run advantage into the home half of the seventh inning. Brevard's Granata hit a leadoff single, but three-consecutive outs clinched the high-scoring victory for Guilford, 17-12.
The Tornados now gear up for a seven-game road swing that begins with a midweek trip to former USA South Conference foe Piedmont University on Wednesday, March 1 at 6 p.m. in Demorest, Georgia.
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-BC-