Baseball Takes Two from Gyrenes
Courtesy of BPC
Brewton-Parker baseball hosted Ave Maria (Fla.) for a threegame series to open the first few games of a long homestand.
The Barons (4-2) took two from the Gyrenes (4-3) to secure back-to-back series to open the 2023 campaign. BPC opened with a 12-3 victory in a planned seven-inning contest on Friday afternoon before slipping in a 17-5 loss in the second game. The Barons captured a 12-4 win to secure the series on Saturday.
Game 1
Brewton-Parker surged to a nine-run lead in the second inning after a scoreless first, utilizing five hits and taking advantage of an error from the visitors. Malik Germany singled up the middle to bring two runners home before a bases-loaded, hit-bypitch play on Kennard Dawson crossed another run over home plate.
Another run was brought in off a walk with the Gyrenes making a pitching change in the middle of the inning. Tate Worrell connected for a two-RBI single with a run following a hit-bypitch play. Jacob Mantooth produced a pair of runs on a single to give the Barons a nine-run advantage.
Ave Maria was unable to respond until the top of the fifth inning, scoring their only runs of the game. A leadoff double and a triple to right field put two on the board with a fielder’s choice RBI finished the inning cutting the deficit down to six runs.
Brewton-Parker managed to collect three additional runs in the sixth inning to move the score to 12-3. In the bottom half of the inning, BPC managed to load the bases before Germany singled and advanced to second, sending a trio of Barons to home plate.
Ty Cook (2-0) took care of all seven innings for BPC, giving up four hits, three runs, and two walks while striking out eight batters.
The BPC bats notched a total of eight hits versus AMU’s four. Worrell, Germany, and Mantooth all led with a pair of hits each with Germany leading with five RBIs. Nine different Barons crossed home plate at least once with Worrell, DeMasi, and Mantooth leading with two runs apiece.
Game 2
The Barons found themselves in a 4-0 advantage after two innings of play with Worrell highlighting with a two-RBI triple to score the first two runs of the game before eventually crossing the plate on a wild pitch.
Ave Maria took a run back in the top of the third inning to move the deficit to three runs before Brewton- Parker added another run to take a 5-1 lead heading into the top of the sixth inning. The inning was not good for BPC as the Gyrenes exploded into an 11-5 lead, scoring 10 runs. The visitors produced six hits and took care of two miscues from the Barons to take a dominant grip on the scoreline. Ave Maria added a run in the eighth and capped the game off with five runs in the top of the ninth to steal a game from the Barons.
AMU held a 14-6 hit advantage with both teams notching four errors each. Six different Barons notched a hit each with five individuals producing a run apiece. Worrell’s two-RBI triple highlighted the night with Eduardo Castillo and DeMasi also recording RBIs. A total of seven Barons made appearances on the mound with Matt Hager earning the start and tossing for three innings. Noah Gilbert was given the loss, allowing five runs on 18 pitches.
Game 3
Brewton-Parker turned things around in the final game of the series, holding the Gyrenes to just three hits and four runs, which were all in the fifth inning. The Barons opened with a solo shot from Castillo to lead early in the first inning.
Kyran Coleman singled to bring in two runs in the second inning to boost the lead to three before Mantooth knocked out a solo homer in the third to lead 4-0 with an RBI single from Carson Kirby moved the score to 5-0.
Ave Maria pieced together a pair of runs and capped off the fifth inning with a two-run homer to cut the deficit down to just one score behind Brewton-Parker. Back-to-back home runs from Jack Morris and Kirby advanced the Barons to a 7-4 lead with Worrell following with a single to bring in a pair of runs.
With a 9-4 lead toward the end of the fifth inning, DeMasi was called out on a sacrifice fly to bring home a run followed by Germany’s double to score another for an 11-4 lead. BPC scored one final run in the eighth inning to secure a 12-4 lead and the win.
BPC outhit AMU 12-3 on the day while taking advantage of four errors from Gyrenes. Coleman led the RBI category with three whole Worrell and Carson notched two each. Germany finished the day 3-for-5, scoring two runs with Kirby going 2-for-3 and Mantooth going 2-for-5. A total of four Barons knocked out homers while Germany notched the lone double. Carlos Rodriguez opened the game, pitching for 4.1 innings and giving up four runs on two hits while striking out seven batters. Ryan Dopson was credited with the win in 1.2 innings worth of play, striking out three batters in six at-bats.