BREVARD, N.C. - The Brevard College baseball team (20-18, 10-10 USA South) could not get much going offensively in a doubleheader sweep at the hands of Greensboro College (18-19, 12-8 USAS) on Saturday afternoon at Gil Coan Field.
The Pride blanked Brevard in game number one, 5-0, before scoring five unanswered runs including four in the final two innings to defeat the Tornados in the second contest, 5-1.
With the results, BC has locked into the six-seed in the upcoming USA South Conference Baseball Tournament, as Brevard will travel to Fayetteville, North Carolina next week for the first-round three-team double-elimination tournament between the two, three, and six seeds in the Conference.
GAME ONE - GREENSBORO 5, BREVARD 0
Senior right-handed pitcher Trenten Anderson (4-6) gave the Tornados six quality innings, allowing four runs on eight hits with one strikeout - with all four runs coming in the top of the fifth inning. Ethan Coleman provided three innings of relief for the Tornados, striking out two batters while allowing an unearned run on three hits.
Lucas Granata turned in a 2-for-4 performance for the Tornados while Cale Oehler logged a double and Zach Allison stole a base. Kenneth Pridmore and Frankie Vasquez also collected singles for Brevard.
Greensboro was led by a stellar pitching performance from Sam Peddycord (6-3) who went seven innings allowing no runs and five hits while striking out six batters. Stephen Dunlow came on and finished the game with two scoreless frames.
Evan Sykes and Kai Hayen recorded doubles while Connor Morehouse launched a three-run homer that helped propel the Pride to victory.
The first four innings proved tough sledding for both teams. As BC stranded a pair in the second but went down 1-2-3 in the first, third, and fourth innings. GC got on the board in the top of the fifth with a single, wild pitch, and RBI double that made it a 1-0 ballgame. Then following a single that placed runners on the corners, Morehouse connected for a three-run shot to left-center field that pushed the visitor's edge to a 4-0 margin.
BC couldn't find an answer after going down in order in the fifth and stranding a two-out single in the sixth. Brevard's best chance to score in the game came in the bottom of the seventh after Vasquez hit a leadoff single that was followed by an Oehler double that placed runners on second and third with nobody out.
However, BC would be denied any runs after a pair of strikeouts and a groundout ended the threat.
A pair of passed balls proved costly in the top of the eighth as Greensboro added an insurance run to go up by a 5-0 margin. BC could not capitalize on a dropped fly ball error in the bottom of the eighth and a 6-4-3 double play in the bottom of the ninth gave Greensboro the series-opening victory.
GAME TWO - GREENSBORO 5, BREVARD 1
Brevard was able to get on the board first in game number two, as Hayden Jennings split a gap to score Cale Oehler in the bottom of the second inning. However, that would be all the Tornado offense could muster as a pair of strikeouts looking ended the frame.
BC was able to get runners on first and second with one away but a picked-off baserunner squashed the scoring opportunity.
Brevard would proceed to be retired in its next eight at-bats before Oehler drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the sixth. Colson Miller followed suit with a walk of his own and Allison singled on a sharp liner to right that loaded the bases up. They would remain loaded up following a line out from Jennings, keeping the score at a 1-0 margin in favor of Brevard.
The Pride put together a seventh-inning rally, loading the bases up with nobody out in the frame. Brevard's Jacob Thompson and the Tornado defense avoided serious damage, only surrendering a run on a sacrifice fly and salvaging the tie score, 1-1, through seven innings complete.
Thompson was relieved in the top of the eighth by Connor Crosby, and Greensboro was able to touch him up for two runs on two hits, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch as the Pride took their first lead of the ballgame, 3-1.
Brevard was able to get a two-out rally started with a walk and single that placed runners on the corners, but GC forced yet another looking strikeout to dash Brevard's hopes.
Greensboro was able to add two insurance runs as Cam Edmonds singled through the left side of the infield to bring across two runs and give GC a 5-1 margin.
Following a pair of leadoff singles from the Tornados, GC's starting first baseman Edmonds switched gloves and took the mound in relief of Cameron Watts (1-0) with a save opportunity now on the line. Edmonds walked the first batter he faced to load them up with nobody out but then proceeded to get BC's 3-4-5 hitters to strikeout, fly out, and fly out to right field to clinch the series victory for Greensboro and send Brevard down to the six-seed in the conference.
Allison and Logan Clark each had multi-hit games for BC, who managed just one extra-base hit in the game.
The regular season is slated to conclude on Sunday at 1 p.m. vs. Greensboro in the series finale.
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-BC-