Barons Baseball Splits With Skyhawks

Courtesy of BPCU

Brewton-Parker Christian University Barons baseball team took on the Skyhawks of Keirser University in a pair of double headers last week. They lost both games on Friday on the road, but bounced back on Saturday to take both games over the Skyhawks.

Friday

Brewton-Parker Christian University Barons dropped both games of a road doubleheader at Keiser University on January 30, falling 14-3 in the opener and 13-0 in the seven-inning nightcap at Silvester Jr. Field. The Barons briefly grabbed the lead in Game 1 with a three-run second inning before Keiser answered with a decisive seven-run third and carried the momentum through the rest of the day.

Game 1

In the season opener, the Skyhawks took advantage of early miscues to go ahead 2-0 in the first. The Barons responded immediately in the second, stringing together quality at-bats to put up three runs and move in front 3-2. That inning marked the Barons’ best offensive stretch of the day.

The turning point came in the bottom of the third, when Keiser exploded for seven runs to reclaim control at 9-3. The Seahawks continued to build on the lead with two runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth, pulling away to a 14-3 final.

Game 2

In the second game, the Barons faced a dominant pitching performance and were unable to sustain any offense, losing 13-0. Keiser jumped ahead with a three-run homer in the first and steadily widened the margin with runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. The Barons managed six hits, but again were undone by three defensive errors and 11 strikeouts at the plate, stranding six baserunners.

Saturday Brewton-Parker Christian University Barons baseball team rallied after dropping the first two games of the season to the Keiser University Seahawks, winning both games Saturday for a series split. The Barons took game one 10-2 in eight innings before a high-scoring game two, which they won 13-11 on January 31.

Game 1

The Barons broke game one open with a five-run fifth and a fourrun sixth, turning a tight contest into a decisive road win. Brewton-Parker finished with 10 runs on 11 hits while taking advantage of three Keiser errors to grab their first win of the season in the first game of the doubleheader.

In the decisive fifth inning, Fred Guzman Diaz delivered the swing that flipped the game. With runners aboard, Diaz ripped a two-run double to give Brewton-Parker its first lead. The Barons kept the pressure on, and later in the frame, outfielder Jeremi Lara drove in another run with a double as the Barons sent five runs across to surge ahead 6–2.

Brewton-Parker immediately added on in the sixth to put the game out of reach. Raul Morales opened the inning with a double, setting the tone for another crooked number. Jack Morris and Diaz each produced run-scoring plays before designated hitter Michael Son capped the rally with a two-run single. By the end of the frame, the Barons’ lead had swelled to 10– 2.

On the mound, Rutland provided the stability Brewton- Parker needed after the early Keiser scores. The righthander worked 6 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits with four walks and three strikeouts on 83 pitches to earn the win. The Barons’ staff limited Keiser to five hits and two runs overall, holding the Seahawks scoreless over the final five innings.

Game 2

In game 2, the Barons built a big early lead, then answered a furious Keiser comeback with a five-run eighth inning to secure a 13-11 victory. The Barons kept their momentum from game one, going with a four-run first inning, highlighted by a solo home run to left field from Jack Morris to jump-start the scoring. The Barons extended the margin in the third, stringing together quality at-bats to push three more runs across. Lara singled home Diaz, and later in the frame, Marquette Gibson lifted a sacrifice fly as the Barons moved ahead 7-2. In the fourth, Son doubled and eventually scored on a groundout to make it 8-2, but Keiser methodically climbed back into the game with two runs in the fifth, two more in the sixth, and another pair in the seventh, tying the contest at 8-8.

With momentum swung toward Keiser entering the eighth, the Barons responded decisively. The Barons erupted for five runs in the top half of the inning staling back momentum. Gibson delivered a key RBI double to break the tie, and Zack Carlton followed later in the frame with a two-run single to cap the rally and push the lead to 13-8. That outburst proved to be the difference, giving Brewton-Parker enough separation to withstand Keiser’s final surge.

Morris and Morales anchored the Brewton-Parker lineup with three hits apiece, with Morris adding the first-inning home run and Morales driving in a run with a double. Gibson finished with two hits and three RBIs, including the goahead double and an earlier sacrifice fly, underscoring the middle-ofthe- order production that fueled the win. With the road victory, the Barons showed offensive depth and resilience, responding to adversity late and finishing off a back-andforth matchup in Florida.

Head Coach Aaron Larsen shared his thoughts after the games, saying, “Proud of how the guys responded today. Never want to drop the first two games of the year, but everyone buckled down and helped us steal a split on the series.”