BPC Barons Take On Thomas University

Courtesy of BPC

The Brewton-Parker College Barons baseball team took on Thomas (Ga.) last week in a three-game series. The first game was on Friday and then they played a double header on Saturday.

Thursday

Brewton-Parker Baseball returned home to Mount Vernon, Ga., for an SSAC series against Thomas (Ga.), beginning with a nineinning contest on Thursday night. The Barons (14-10, 6-4 SSAC) knocked the Night Hawks (14-8, 4-6 SSAC) in a 12-9 victory on home soil.

Thomas opened the game with an RBI single for an early lead in the first inning. However, Brewton-Parker responded with an RBI single from Michael Son and a run scored off an error from the visitors for a 2-1 lead in the bottom half of the inning.

The Night Hawks leveled the game in the top of the second inning taking advantage of a single and an error from BPC for a 2-2 scoreline. Son notched another RBI single to bring home the third run of the game in the third inning and was brought in on a tworun homer from Dawson to give the Barons a 5-2 advantage.

Brewton-Parker added to the tally in the fourth inning with a two-RBI double from Carson Kirby for a 7-2 lead while another run was brought in by a single to left field from Tate Worrell for an 8-2 edge.

Thomas responded with two runs in the top of the fifth inning scoring on an RBI single and a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit down to four, barreling three hits in the process and leaving a runner on as well.

Jacob Mantooth mashed a two-out solo homer in the bottom half of the inning to boost the Barons forward by five. The Barons left a runner on as well with Jack Morris notching a double.

The Night Hawks pulled within three runs in the sixth inning with a two-run homer, yet the Barons had an answer in the bottom half of the inning. Dawson produced a two-out, two-RBI double to right field to move the Barons to an 11-6 lead.

Brewton-Parker gave up two runs on just two hits to Thomas in the seventh as TU scored on an RBI single and a passed ball for an 11-8 score in favor of the Barons. The Night Hawks began closing the gap, scoring on an RBI single in the eighth inning to cut the deficit to two runs.

The Barons were able to find a single from Worrell and an RBI single from Son to advance to a 12-9 lead, holding off Thomas in the ninth for the win to open the series. The Barons narrowly edged out the Night Hawks 15-14 in hits. Son led the Barons’ batting efforts with RBI on three hits while Dawson notched four RBI on two hits. As for base running, Brandon Lawrence led with three runs scored and a stolen base. Lawrence also led with two doubles followed by doubles from Kirby, Dawson, and Morris. Alex Muns (3-2) picked up the win, tossing for six innings and giving away five earned runs while allowing 13 hits. He also struck out six batters in the process. After eight pitches from Robin Haven, Ty Cook pitched for two innings and recorded three strikeouts before Carlos Rodriguez earned his fifth save of the season with three strikeouts in the eighth inning.

Friday

Brewton-Parker Baseball continued the series against Thomas (Ga.) on Friday with doubleheader action in Mount Vernon, Ga. The Barons (14-12, 6-6 SSAC) dropped the pair of games to the Night Hawks (16-8, 6-6 SSAC) with a 9-5 loss in the first game of the day, followed by an 18-15 loss in the nightcap.

Game 1

Thomas opened the second game of the series and the first of the afternoon with three runs in the first three innings at the plate. The Night Hawks barreled a leadoff homer and scored on a throwing error for a tworun lead in the first inning before following up with an RBI double in the top of the third inning for a 3-0 edge.

Michael Son doubled to right field to score Tate Worrell and Brandon Lawrence in the bottom half of the third to cut the deficit to just one run. The Night Hawks moved to a 4-2 advantage in the fourth inning with a wild pitch bringing in a run.

The fifth inning was kind to the visitors as they produced a two-run homer, another run scored on a wild pitch, and a run on a fielder’s choice to move to an 8-2 lead. Jacob Mantooth barreled a two-run homer for himself in the bottom of the fifth to move the deficit to four runs before Son added an RBI single in the sixth inning for an 8-5 ballgame. Thomas capped the game off with a solo home run for a 9-5 lead and the victory.

Thomas led 10-6 in hits with Son leading BPC with a pair of hits and three RBI. The Night Hawks produced three home runs while the Barons produced one from Mantooth. Brewton-Parker’s baserunners totaled five stolen bases for the game. Ty Cook (3-3) received the loss, throwing four innings. Cook finished with seven runs on five earned runs, allowing eight hits and two walks. Dakota Davis finished the game with three innings, giving away two earned runs on two hits and a walk.

Game 2

Brewton-Parker took a two-run advantage early with a home run from Carson Kirby and an RBI single from Kennard Dawson before adding two more runs in the bottom of the second off a two-run barrel over the left field wall from Lawrence for a 4-0 lead.

The Night Hawks pulled within two runs in the third inning with a two-RBI double with the Barons following up with three runs in the bottom half of the inning. Dawson hit a solo shot to left field and was followed by a two-RBI single from Kirby to give the Barons a 7-2 advantage.

Thomas responded with two runs scored in the fourth inning, yet the Barons added more to the tally in the bottom of the fourth. Mantooth notched a bases-loaded walk and was followed by a two-RBI double from Jack Morris to move BPC to a 10-4 lead before adding another run on a wild pitch to go up 11-4.

In the fifth, Drew DeMasi produced a two-RBI single to advance the Barons to a nine-run advantage and a chance to potentially force a runrule finish. Unfortunately for BPC, the lead was cut by six runs in the sixth inning as the Night Hawks utilized an RBI single and a grand slam to pull within three runs.

Kirby moved the Barons to a 14-10 lead in the sixth with a solo shot, but Thomas moved back to a three-run deficit with an RBI double in the seventh. With a 1411 lead in the seventh, Morris pushed a runner in on a single to move the Barons to a 15-11 edge.

The Night Hawks’ bats heated up at just the right time as the guests barreled a two-run shot to left field in the eighth inning to pull the deficit down to 15-13 before scoring five runs in the ninth inning on an RBI single, a two-RBI double, and an error to win 1815.

Brewton-Parker led 19-14 in hits with Son going 4-for-5 with four hits and a walk. Kirby led the Barons with four RBI on three hits, which included two homers while also earning a walk. Morris finished with three hits and three RBI. Mantooth led with a pair of doubles while Tate Worrell and Morris both notched one. Brandon Russell opened with the first 5.1 innings, allowing five earned runs on four hits and four walks while striking out 10 batters in the process. Carlos Rodriguez (0-2) was given the loss, closing the final two innings. He gave up three earned runs, four hits, four walks, and struck out five batters.