Bridgewater opened its spring break by splitting a doubleheader
at Occidental, winning the opener 6-5 and losing the second game
4-3.
In the opener, the Eagles rallied with two runs in the eight and
one in the ninth to take the victory.
The Eagles loaded the bases in the eighth when Brett Howell walked,
Kevin Kirk singled and Drew Elkins was hit by a pitch. One run
scored on a double-play grounder and then the Eagles tied the score
when pinch-hitter drew Easter doubled to score pinch-runner Devon
Snow.
Bridgewater took the lead in the ninth when Tyler Hodges was hit by
a pitch to lead off the inning and scored on Brett Howell's
two-out double, giving the Eagles a 6-5 lead.
Occidental threatened in the ninth as they loaded the bases. With
two outs, freshman Jeremy Leake came out of the bullpen to strike
out the final batter and preserve the victory.
Freshman Kevin Chandler pitched seven solid innings, allowing five
runs on 11 hits. He struck out six and walked one. Jake Wade worked
1.2 innings of scoreless relief to pick up the win.
The Eagles offense produced 13 hits with Mitchell Edwards, Mike
Lenox, Kirk, Elkins and Andrew Chrismer each finishing with two
hits.
In the second game, Occidental rallied in the late innings with two
runs in the seventh and one in the eight to take a 4-3 win.
Bridgewater took an early lead when Howell doubled and scored on
Kirk's single in the second for a 1-0 lead.
After Occidental tied the score, the Eagles regained the lead with
one run in the fifth and one in the sixth. In the fifth, Brad
Buracker singled, stole second and scored on a single by Tyler
Hodges. The Eagles added an unearned run in the sixth for a 3-1
lead.
This time the BC bullpen was unable to hold the lead as Occidental
scored twice in the seventh to tie the game and then added an
unearned run in the eight to take the victory.
Blake Stokely pitched 5.2 strong innings, allowing just three hits
and one run. Lenox, Howell, Kirk and Alex Hogge had two hits each
for the Eagles, now 6-7 on the season.
