FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - The Brevard College baseball team (21-19) used a three-run rally in the top of the 11th inning and sealed the deal in the bottom half of the frame to take a 5-2 victory over William Peace University (22-19) in the opening round of the 2023 USA South Conference Baseball Tournament at Armstrong-Shelley Field on the campus of Methodist University.
The triumph for the six-seeded Tornados marks the first postseason victory in the NCAA-era history of the BC baseball program, which has competed in both the NCAA DII and DIII ranks.
Brevard will now advance to the second day of the opening round double-elimination tournament, as the Tornados will take on host and two-seed Methodist on Saturday at 3 p.m.
BC held a 1-0 lead after breaking a scoreless tie in the top of the fifth inning before WPU answered with a game-tying score in the bottom of the sixth. The Pacers took their first lead of the afternoon, 2-1, in the bottom of the seventh before the Tornados rallied in the top of the ninth to tie things back up. Following a scoreless tenth innings, BC scored three in the 11th and shut down the Pacers in the bottom of the inning to earn the victory.
Logan Clark, Luke Morton, and Kenneth Pridmore all collected two hits, while Cale Oehler and Frankie Vasquez each hit a double. Senior catcher Brett Burchett hit a two-RBI single in the top of the 11th to provide the Tornados with all the insurance that they would need.
Cesar Rodriguez (2-3) earned the win after pitching four shutout innings of relief, allowing four hits while striking out two batters. Senior Trenten Anderson got the start, hurling seven innings of two-run ball while logging four strikeouts.
Brevard will now advance to the second day of the opening round double-elimination tournament, as the Tornados will take on host and two-seed Methodist on Saturday at 3 p.m., with the Monarchs one loss away from being eliminated. Regardless of the result, the Tornados will then match up with William Peace in a rematch approximately 30 minutes following the Brevard/Methodist contest, as the Pacers knocked off MU 1-0 in game two of the day one action.
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