FORT MYERS, Fla. – If the Edgewood College baseball team's offense produces like this, the team might never come back from Florida. The Eagles scored the second most runs in a single game in school history in a 25-1 whitewash of Principia College (Ill.) in their opening game at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic. Three different Eagles had three or more hits in the game.
The first inning set the tone for the game, as the Eagles scored five runs on just two hits, thanks in part to two Panthers errors. Ryan O'Dell had an RBI double and freshman Cody Digre had an RBI single. O'Dell and Digre would each go 4-for-5 on the day with Digre scoring five runs and O'Dell crossing home plate four times. O'Dell had a team-high five runs batted in while Digre smacked his first career triple in the fourth inning.
Edgewood College (2-4) got an RBI single from Zach Creekmore as part of a four-run third inning. Creekmore ended the game with a career-high three hits including a double and three runs batted in. Freshman Kody Parman was the only other Eagle with multiple hits on the day, with a single and an RBI double in the seventh inning.
Principia College (2-1) picked up their lone run in the sixth inning, but by that time already trailed 17-1. Edgewood College scored eight unearned runs in the seventh inning when three of the first Eagle batters reached on Panther fielding errors.
Tony Ales was sharp on the mound for Edgewood College, striking out four of the first six batters he faced in the game. The senior gave up just two hits and no runs over four innings to earn his first victory of the season. Ales struck out five batters.Taylor Hillmann cleaned up the rest of the game for the Eagles, allowing one run on three hits and striking out five batters of his own.
Edgewood College will be back in action tomorrow with a doubleheader against Minnesota neighbor Bethel University. The Eagles and Royals will begin at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time at Terry Park in Fort Myers. There are limited live stats available on EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com and updates on Twitter at @EdgewoodEagles.