BPC Takes Series Over Blue Mountain

Courtesy of BPC

Southern States Athletic Conference action officially started for Brewton-Parker College Baseball as Blue Mountain (Miss.) visited Mount Vernon for the first two games of the weekend series on Friday. They wrapped up the three game home stand with a game on Saturday.

The Barons (8-7, 1-1 SSAC) split the seriesopening doubleheader against the Toppers (8-2, 1-1 SSAC) with a 9-5 loss in game one, followed by a big 12-6 win in the second game.

Game 1

The Toppers busted the game open with a leadoff homer before taking advantage of a duo of errors for the second run of the game. After a lineout double play, BMCU placed another runner on base and in scoring position with another error but left the runner to close with a 2-0 lead.

Brewton-Parker swiftly responded and leveled the game. Brandon Lawrence started to heat things up with a double. Kennard Dawson produced a sacrifice flyout to score one before Michael Son batted in a runner with a single to tie the game 2-2 in the bottom of the second.

A two-out double followed by a walk placed two runners in position to score for Blue Mountain in the top of the second. The Toppers took a 3-2 lead with an RBI single before flying out with two runners left stranded.

After a scoreless third, BMCU barreled a two-run homer for a 5-2 advantage in the top of the fourth. BPC responded in the bottom of the fifth with three hits and three runs to level the score at 5-5. Lawrence notched a sacrifice fly for an RBI with Tate Worrell following with a two-run blast of his own for the tying runs.

Blue Mountain reclaimed the lead in the sixth inning with an RBI single before adding three more in the top of the seventh with a threerun home run for a 9-5 lead. The Toppers finished the last two innings with five and four runs to secure a series-opening victory.

Blue Mountain led 11-7 hits and took advantage of five errors from Brewton-Parker. Three Barons led BPC with two hits each, as Carson Kirby, Lawrence, and Son all notched a pair of base hits. Lawrence produced two doubles with Son recording one. Worrell connected for a tworun homer for his lone hit of the game. Alex Muns (1-1) pitched five innings and received the loss, giving up six runs with five being earned. He struck out four batters while walking two. Dakota Davis pitched the final two innings, giving away three runs while striking out four as well.

Game 2

Blue Mountain opened game two with a hot start in the second inning, booming a threerun ball out to right field for a 3-0 lead. Brewton-Parker managed to finally respond in the bottom of the third inning with a leadoff single from Lawrence followed by a double to center field from Worrell. Dawson brought in the first run on a sacrifice fly before Son followed suit for the second run. The Toppers barreled another ball out at the top of the fourth, but the 4-2 lead was shortlived as the Barons reclaimed the lead. BPC took care of an RBI single from Kendell Wade as well as a two-run homer from Lawrence to capture a 5-4 lead in the bottom half of the inning.

Brewton-Parker added to the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth inning, with a two-RBI single from Carson Kirby to take a 7-4 lead. In the seventh, BMCU hit another homer and scored on a wild pitch to cut the deficit down to one run.

The Barons blasted the doors wide open in the eighth inning, scoring five runs on seven hits. Kirby connected for an RBI single followed by a two-RBI double from Worrell moving the score to 10-6 just before a two-run home run from Son shifted the BPC lead to six runs.

BPC held an 18-11 advantage in hits and was led by Lawrence with three hits and two RBIs while Wade finished with three hits and Kirby finished with a pair of hits as well as a trio of RBIs. Both Joshua Valente and Worrell produced a duo of doubles each. Three Barons appeared on the bump with Ty Cook (21) earning the win after tossing for a total of seven innings. Cook finished the night with 11 strikeouts and surpassed the 300-career strikeout mark in the game.

Game 3

After splitting the doubleheader on Friday evening, Brewton-Parker Baseball looked to secure the series against Blue Mountain (Miss.) on Saturday afternoon with a single nine-inning contest in Mount Vernon.

The Barons (9-7, 2-1 SSAC) captured the series (2-1) over the Toppers (8-3, 1-2 SSAC) with a thrilling 15-14 win which ended in a come-back effort in the ninth inning, winning off a bases-loaded hit-bypitch.

Blue Mountain knocked Brewton-Parker on the ropes early with eight runs in the top of the first inning on just five hits and an error from the Barons. BPC responded in the bottom half of the inning with three runs and three hits while leaving a runner on to cut the deficit to five.

Carson Kirby notched a leadoff single and eventually crossed home plate on a two-RBI single from Kennard Dawson before Drew De-Masi batted in Dawson on a single to right field for the third run. After a scoreless second inning, Brewton-Parker added two more runs to the tally with sacrifice flyouts from Michael Son and DeMasi for an 8-5 deficit.

The Toppers moved to a 9-5 advantage in the top of the fifth inning with a solo homer before following up with a couple of scoreless affairs in the sixth and seventh innings. The Barons would go on to claim a 10-9 lead in the bottom of the eighth.

BPC began the scoring efforts in the eighth with an RBI single from Kirby and followed up with an RBI single from Brandon Lawrence to cut the deficit to just two runs. A two-RBI double from Tate Worrell leveled the ballgame at nine runs apiece before Dawson went on to bring Worrell home on an RBI single for the 10-9 edge.

Blue Mountain took the wind out of the Barons’ sails in the top half of the ninth inning, barreling a two-run homer as well as a three-run blast for a 14-10 advantage to shock the home dugout. Brewton-Parker responded as well as you could in the bottom of the ninth inning, scoring five runs in return.

DeMasi notched a leadoff single and was followed by a double from Jacob Mantooth before Jack Morris knocked in two RBIs on a double to center field to pull the deficit down to two runs. Kendell Wade notched an RBI double as well to score Morris to pull the Barons within one run, threatening a comefrom- behind win.

After some pitching and position changes from the Toppers, Brewton- Parker continued the offensive production with a walk and a couple of stolen bases prior to Wade scoring on a wild pitch to tie the game at 14-14. The Barons loaded the bases with a hit-by-pitch on Dawson and a walk on Son before DeMasi earned a hit-bypitch walk-off for the 1514 win.

BPC led 14-13 in hits and was led by Morris with three hits and two RBIs. Both Dawson and DeMasi recorded three RBIs each. The Barons totaled four doubles and two sacrifice flyouts. BPC baserunners produced six stolen bases led by Dawson’s trio. Dakota Davis earned the win (2-0) as one of four Barons who made appearances. Chandler Koerner tossed 7.0 innings and struck out seven batters in the process while giving up just one earned run.