BRIDGEWATER, Va. - Bridgewater baseball opened their first games at the Bridgewater baseball complex with a pair of wins against McDaniel in a doubleheader Saturday. 

The Bridgewater College Eagles (BC) now stand at 7-0 overall this season, winning the first game 11-1 and taking the second game in a walk-off thriller for an 8-7 final. The McDaniel (MGT) Green Terror dropped 0-2 to start the season. 

How It Happened 

Game 1 

• The Eagles opened the scoring in the second inning off a drilled double down the line by Chandler Valbak to score Jake Harris. From there, BC was in firm control.  

• Later in the fourth inning, Jake Harris squared off a far shot over the wall to notch his first home run of the season and pushed the lead to 2-0. The Green terror responded in the third inning with an RBI single, giving the Eagles the sign to get back into aggressive offense.  

• In the bottom of the fifth inning, BC earned bases loaded and Ashton Smith was thrown four balls to help Nick Stavros cross home plate. Bryce Suters also followed suit and took his base on four balls, helping Bransen Hensley to score for a 4-1 advantage. Then, to top it off, Harris barreled a single up the middle scoring Smith and Jakson Walter. Soon after, Valbak crushed a shot over the wall to score Harris and Suters, lunging out to a dominant 10-1 lead.  

• Smith earned the final run batted in with a single to score Trent Holland. The game closed after eight with the run-rule in place to take the first game of the doubleheader 11-1. 

Game 2 

• Momentum swings shifted often in the second game of the doubleheader, and the Eagles dug deep in late innings to find an edge despite the early deficit. McDaniel put a run on the board with active baserunning, and a wild pitch opened the score. Then the Green Terror added another run with an RBI single. The Eagles at a deficit, quickly acted. In the second inning, Nick Stavros made contact and moved a run to score with a sacrifice fly. Bransen Hensley tied the game up at two apiece with a single to center field, knocking in Spencer Sigmon.  

• The Eagles continued with more offense in the next inning, lacing together two runs with a two-run double from Bryce Suters. The Green Terror battled back to tie it up at four apiece with a pair of RBI singles. MGT jumped ahead with the lead in the fifth inning, logging a third RBI single.  

• The Green Terror kept pushing ahead to tack on their seventh run of the day, opening the lead to 7-4 at the seventh inning stretch. The Eagles stayed close and found more active offense beginning the eighth inning. Stavros sparked the offense again with a double, allowing Suters to cross home plate for the fifth run.  

• The Eagles pushed it to the final inning to make the move for the lead, and the offense got busy. Suters singled to left field to knock in Trent Holland. Then, Jake Harris was granted first base with a hit-by-pitch, and Jakson Walter scored. In the final moment of the game, Valbak focused in and closed out the day with a walk-off RBI single to bring home Eli Weese and take the second game of the doubleheader at 8-7. 

Game Notes 

Game 1 

• Chandler Valbak finished with his first home run of the season, including four RBIs, two hits, and a scored run. 

• Jake Harris also had a hot bat going 4-for-4 on the day and his first home run of the season. 

• Cam Nuckols pitched a solid line with his second win of the season, posting six innings pitched, three hits, one run, and two strikeouts. 

Game 2 

• Bryce Suters remained active throughout all nine innings at the plate totaling three hits, three RBIs, and one scored run. 

• Both teams went neck and neck in offensive categories evening out at 12 hits each. 

• Evan Bert started the second game on the mound posting four innings pitched, three runs, and five strikeouts. 

Up Next 

The Eagles are back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at Christopher Newport.