BREVARD, N.C. - On a sunny Saturday afternoon at Gil Coan Field, the Brevard College baseball team (15-6, 5-0 USA South) defeated Pfeiffer University (3-11, 0-5 USAS) in a pair of USA South Conference contests by final scores of 8-2 and 1-0 in BC's first home conference games of the season.
BC pulled away late in game number one and used stellar pitching performances in the second game to take both games of the afternoon twin-bill.
GAME ONE - BREVARD 8, PFEIFFER 2
Seven different Tornados racked up multi-hit performances in game one as BC totaled 16 hits and scored eight runs, including six in the last three innings to pull away from a 2-2 tie game.
Starting pitcher Trenten Anderson (3-2) hurled a gem on the mound, going seven and one-third innings allowing just two runs on eight hits while striking out five batters. Cesar Rodriguez finished things up in relief with an inning and two-thirds of scoreless ball to earn his first save of the season.
Frankie Vasquez led all Tornados with a 3-for-4 performance, while Zach Allison and Parker Crews hit back-to-back solo home runs in the bottom of the third inning as part of two-hit performances, while Blake Burchett, Logan Clark, Lucas Granata, and Luke Morton also had two hits each. Crews drove in a team-best three runs while Morton added two, and Allison scored a team-high two runs.
Pfeiffer's Jake Brown, Cory Lackey, and Austin Wood all had two hits apiece to lead the Falcons. John Owen (1-2) was saddled with the loss allowing 11 hits and four earned runs.
After a pair of scoreless innings to start things off, Pfeiffer got on the board first after an RBI single and fielder's choice RBI. Crews and Allison answered right back, however, as the duo homered on consecutive pitches to tie things back up, 2-2.
Both sides went down scoreless in the fourth and fifth innings before Cale Oehler pushed a single through the right side of the infield that brought Clark across to score the go-ahead run, making it a 3-2 ballgame after six innings of play.
Brevard was able to add some insurance in the bottom of the seventh with Morton's RBI single that scored Allison, giving BC a 4-2 advantage. Rodriguez was able to come in relief in the top of the eight and keep Brevard's lead at two, working around a pair of one-out walks.
The Tornados broke through with four runs in the bottom of the eighth on four hits, as Brevard cruised from there to its six-run win, 8-2.
GAME TWO - BREVARD 1, PFEIFFER 0
The second game of the twin billing turned quickly into a pitching clinic, as both starters impressed for their respective teams. Connor Crosby (5-0) earned his fifth win of his freshman season in his sixth start, shutting out the Falcons over the course of seven innings allowing just six hits and striking out five batters. Bryce Bowers earned his third save of the season and the seventh of his career, setting a new NCAA-era record for program career saves. Bowers, a native of Madisonville, Tennessee, shut the door with two innings of work striking out two batters.
Pfeiffer's Thad Lewis (0-4) threw six and two-third innings of two-hit ball, striking out an impressive 14 batters but the go-ahead run went against his ledger.
A pair of Tornado errors in the top of the first led to a Falcon scoring threat, but Crosby was able to strike out a pair of batters to escape the jam.
With scoring chances hard to come by, Brevard had a golden opportunity early, as two walks and a hit batter left the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the second. Lewis responded with a pair of strikeouts and a pop out to halt the Tornado scoring chance.
Lewis went on to retire 15 of the next 16 batters he faced, but Crosby matched him inning for inning as the score remained 0-0 through six frames.
Crosby turned in another scoreless frame in the top of the seventh before the Tornado bats stepped back up in the home half of the frame. The inning began with a Vasquez single followed by a sacrifice bunt by Granata. After Lewis' 14th strikeout of the day, BC forced a hit-by-pitch and walk to load the bases. Lewis' day was done, and he was relieved by Jacob Landis.
Burchett capitalized on the scoring chance, scoring BC's lone run of the game on an infield single to give the hosts a 1-0 lead through seven innings of action.
Bowers came on in relief and quickly worked a 1-2-3 frame in the top of the eight. The Tornados threatened for some insurance in the bottom of the inning with the bases loaded and one out, but consecutive strikeouts sent the contest to the top of the ninth with BC clinging to a 1-0 edge.
Pfeiffer used a leadoff and a one-out single to bring the tying run into scoring position. The Falcons grounded into a fielder's choice, placing runners on the corners and two outs. Bowers came through clutch, getting a swinging strikeout that gave Brevard the doubleheader sweep and clinched the series victory for the Tornados.
Brevard will go for a series sweep tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Gil Coan Field.
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-BC-
