LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Bridgewater College baseball team fell to No. 4 Lynchburg 11-1 in game two of the ODAC quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon.
Final Score: No. 4 Lynchburg 11, Bridgewater 1
Records: Bridgewater 17-25; No. 4 Lynchburg 34-6
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Nick Harris opened the game firing on all cylinders for BC as he struck out two of the first three hitters he faced to retire the side in order.
• Lynchburg got the first runner aboard in the second on a base knock, but two consecutive putouts by Jarret Biesecker in left field left the man stranded. The Hornets got another man aboard in the third by virtue of an infield hit but a nice throw from Jonathan Sexton erased the runner for the Hornets as he was caught stealing.
• The Hornets broke the scoreless knot in the fourth with a solo home run and had a chance to extend the lead in the fifth, but Harris shut the door with the bases loaded.
• Bridgewater loaded the bases in the bottom half of the fifth with no outs by virtue of an error, an infield single by Jeffrey Snider and Nick Stavros got tagged by a pitch. Sexton delivered in the next at bat as he lifted a deep fly to center field allowing Isaac Sumpter to tag and score to knot the game. BC had runners in scoring position after a wild pitch but a double play by Lynchburg stifled any chance to take control. Harris came back out on the hill in the sixth and struck out the side to keep the game knotted.
• The No. 4 team in the country had runners on when BC went to Tharp in the top of the seventh. A deep fly out moved runners to the corners with two men gone. With a full count at the plate the runner at first took off. Tharp separated his hands and stepped off as the play was blown dead for a balk allowing the go-ahead run to score. Bridgewater had a chance to knot the game with two runners on in its half of the seventh, but Lynchburg elected to go to Jack Bachmore who struck out the side to keep the lead intact.
• Lynchburg used the long ball in the eighth to add on five runs with a pair of home runs making it 7-1. The Hornets tagged on four more in the ninth and allowed just one base runner over the final two frames.
GAME STATS
• Four different Eagles registered hits in the game.
• Brandon Pond picked up the win for the Hornets after tossing the opening 6.1 innings and only giving up the one unearned run. Pond struck out five of the 25 hitters he faced.
• Bachmore picked up the save for Lynchburg after allowing just one base runner in the final 2.2 innings.
• Harris gets credited with the loss despite a phenomenal 6.1 innings on the hill. The freshman struck out seven of the 28 hitters he faced equaling a K/9 of over 10.
UP NEXT
The rubber match was originally scheduled for this afternoon but was rescheduled to tomorrow, Monday, May 8 at noon.
— BC Athletics —