Wingate, N.C. – The Brevard College men’s baseball team played their first South Atlantic Conference opponent on Saturday afternoon, as they split on the road at Wingate University winning game one 9-4, before falling to Wingate 4-3 in game two.

 

With the split, the Tornados improve to 4-3 on the year, while Wingate moves to 4-8 on the season.

 

 

The Tornados used three – three run innings in game one to score the 9-4 win over the Wingate Bulldogs.

 

The Tornados scored first, pushing three runs across in the top of the third to jump out to a 3-0 lead.

 

With one out, centerfielder Luke Lovelace singled to center field. Brice Warner then reached on a fielding error by the short-stop, putting runners on first and second with one out. Catcher Seth Corliss then singled to left-center to plate Lovelace from second and move Warner over to third. After the next BC batter struck out, designated hitter Josh Miller was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. Short-stop Mitch Hefner came up with a two out single to drive Warner and from third. Senior third-baseman Chris White than came up with yet another two out hit for BC, singling to left to drive in Corliss and put BC up 3-0.

 

Wingate got a run back in the bottom of the inning, as catcher Troutman singled through the left side to drive in Tanner from second to cut the BC lead to 3-1.

 

After Wingate scored in the bottom of the fifth to cut the BC lead to one, at 3-2, Brevard then pushed across three runs in the top of the sixth. 

 

With two outs and two runners on, Lovelace doubled to left field to drive in White from second, who had reached base due to a walk earlier in the inning. Warner then knocked a double of his own to right field, plating both Adam Arrowood and Lovelace to push the Tornados lead to 6-2.

 

Wingate made one last effort late, scoring two runs in the bottom of the eighth as pitch hitter Beasley doubled to right field with two outs to drive in two RBIs and put the score at 6-4 heading into the final inning of play.

 

Yet the Tornados added three insurance runs in the top of the ninth, using their speed on the base paths to force two Wingate throwing errors which help lead to two BC runs. Hefner drove in the third Tornado run of the inning, singling through the right side of the infield to drive in first-baseman Justin Frady and give the Tornados a demanding 9-4 lead.

 

Junior right-hander Spencer Linn (1-0) picked up the win for the Tornados, giving up two runs on eight hits and striking out five over 7.0 innings.

 

The loss went to Dusty White (1-1) as he also went 7.0 innings, allowing six runs, three earned, on eight hits and striking out seven.

 

At the plate, the Tornados were led by lead-off hitter Luke Lovelace, who went 3-5 with a double, an RBI and three runs scored. Brice Warner went 2-4 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored, while Mitch Hefner went 1-4 with two RBIs.

 

 

In game two of the double-header, which is a seven inning affair, the Tornados again took a 3-0 lead, pushing across three runs in the top of the fourth inning. However, Wingate battled back to score two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to score the come from behind 4-3 win.

 

In the top of the fourth, first-baseman Justin Frady lead off the inning with a single through the left side of the infield. After sophomore catcher Josh Miller flied out to left, shortstop Mitch Hefner singled to third, putting runners on first and second with one out. Third-baseman Stephen Mullis then tripled down the right field line, driving in both Frady and Hefner to put BC on the board 2-0. Second-baseman Adam Arrowood then drove in Mullis from third on a fielder’s choice putting the Tornados up 3-0.

 

However, the Bulldogs rallied late, scoring two runs in the sixth to cut the Tornados lead down to one, at 3-2. After Knowles singled to center and right fielder Tanner doubled down the left field line, the Bulldogs had two runners in scoring position with only one out. Siega-Riz then flied out to center, making there two outs in the inning. Hurdle then reached on a BC fielding error which allowed Knowles to score from third and kept the inning alive for the Bulldogs. Designated hitter Weatherford then singled through the left side to drive in Tanner from third and cut the Tornados lead to 3-2 heading into the seventh and final inning of play.

 

After Wingate reliever Karcewski put the Tornados down 1-2-3 in the top of the inning, the Bulldogs Knowles singled to drive in one run to tie the score and then scored on a wild pitch to give Wingate the 4-3 comeback win.

 

Wingate’s Karcewski (1-1) got the win as he worked a perfect seventh inning.

 

The loss goes to BC’s Chris White (0-1) as the senior closer struggled with his control and allowed two runs in the seventh inning.

 

At the plate, BC was led by Stephen Mullis, who went 1-3 with a triple, two RBIs and a run scored. Mitch Hefner went 2-3 with a run scored, while Lovelace went 2-4 with a double.

 

Wingate was led by Weatherford, who went 2-3 with an RBI and Knowles who was 2-2 with an RBI and two runs scored, including scoring the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning.

 

The rubber game of the three-game series will be tomorrow at 1 p.m. 

 

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