CARY, N.C. – The Brevard College baseball team (20-15, 10-8 USA South) fell 12-3 to William Peace University (19-17, 11-7 USAS) on Monday afternoon at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina.
William Peace used a surge of offensive firepower in the victory, scoring 12 runs on 14 hits, including three home runs and five extra-base hits.
Junior outfielder Logan Clark went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double, while Lucas Granata, Hayden Jennings, Luke Morton, and Cale Oehler all recorded singles. Zach Allison and Davis Bryson each drew three walks apiece, with Peter Fumero drawing a pair of base-on-balls.
Cameron Cook (2-1), Matt Evans, and Aiden Williams were the pitchers featured for the Tornados in the contest. Cook and Evans each logged a strikeout, while Williams allowed just one run in two innings of work.
Five different Pacer batters recorded multi-hit games, with eight Pacers logging base hits as part of the 14-hit performance by the team. Jake Dacunto, Patrick Rogan, and Sean Roseborough all slugged homers in the winning effort for William Peace.
The trio of Justin Hamilton, Nathaniel Varnier, and Logan Flowers combined for nine innings of six-hit, three-run ball with 11 strikeouts and nine batters walked to aid the Pacers to victory.
After a scoreless first inning for both teams, BC was able to score first thanks to a one-out single from Granata followed by a Brett Burchett hit-by-pitch and two straight walks drawn by Fumero and Davis Bryson, as Bryson's bases-loaded walk brought Granata across to score. The threat was halted, however, after Allison grounded into a 6-4-3 double play that ended the frame.
Following a lineout by the Pacers, WPU drew two straight walks before Roseborough launched a three-run homer to left field, as William Peace took the lead for good. The Pacers proceeded to use a two-run homer, a pair of RBI doubles, and a failed pickoff attempt error to strike for five runs in the bottom of the third, extending the hosts' lead to an 8-1 margin.
Brevard used two HBP's and a wild pitch to score its second run of the game in the top of the fourth inning, but stranded runners on the corners to mount more of a comeback effort in the frame. William Peace got the run back in the bottom of the fifth after a single, wild pitch, flyout, and wild pitch allowed a run to come across, extending the lead back up to a seven-run margin, 9-2.
A solo homer and sacrifice fly allowed the Pacers to extend their lead further, 11-2, in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Brevard's Taylor Mattern drove in a run with two outs in the top of the eighth inning on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch that brought Oehler around to score BC's third run of the afternoon. Three walks and a single gave the Pacers that run back, 12-3, but Williams forced a 5-3 double play to end the eighth inning.
The Pacers wrapped up the victory in the ninth to sweep the series over the Tornados.
Brevard is back in action on Tuesday as the Tornados take on Bob Jones University under the lights at Conestee Park in Greenville, South Carolina. In addition to the traditional offering of a video stream by the home institution, Brevard College Athletics will have an audio-only radio-style feed available on the Brevard College Tornado Athletics YouTube channel, curated by student broadcaster Brady Penn '24.
To follow the latest news and updates surrounding Brevard College Athletics, follow the Tornados on Twitter and Instagram @bctornados, subscribe to 'Brevard College Tornados' on YouTube, follow 'Brevard College Tornados' on SoundCloud, and 'Brevard College Athletics' on Facebook. In addition, follow 'brevardcollege' on Flickr for photos from Brevard College events
-BC-