BRIDGEWATER, Va. – The Bridgewater College baseball team opened conference play Saturday afternoon by sweeping a doubleheader from Randolph-Macon. The Eagles won the first game 10-5 and took the nightcap 8-1.
With the two victories, the Eagles, now 7-1 overall, run their winning streak to seven in a row.
The Eagles banged out 13 hits and rode a solid start from lefty Corey Armentrout to a win in the opener.
Bridgewater jumped on Yellow Jackets starter Michael Helbig for two runs in the bottom of the first and led the rest of the way.
Bryan Sanderson led off the inning with a double and scored on Jonathan Mason's one-out triple to center to put the Eagles on the board. Mason then scored on Andrew Hacker's RBI-groundout for a 2-0 Eagles lead.
Randolph-Macon scored a run in the third on doubles by Nate Meiners and Michael Trentham, but the Eagles tacked on two runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth to lead 6-1.
With two outs in the fourth, Ryan Smith singled to right and moved to second when the ball skipped past the outfielder. Derrik Walling then doubled to the gap in leftcenter to score Smith, making the score 3-1. Darren Yoder chased Walling home with a single to right, giving the Eagles a 4-1 lead.
In the fifth, Nick Fulk singled to open the inning and Mason followed with a two-run homer, pushing the lead to 6-1.
The Yellow Jackets fought back with three runs in the top of the sixth. Jeb Weymouth led off the inning with a single and scored on Tim Benjamin's double to the leftcenter field fence. Matt Fischgrund then belted a two-run homer to left, cutting the Eagles' lead to 6-4.
Bridgewater answered with a run in the bottom of the sixth and three more in the seventh to take a 10-4 lead.
The Eagles manufactured a run in the sixth when Smith walked and moved to second on Walling's sacrifice bunt. Yoder drove Smith home with a single to left, making the score 7-4.
In the seventh, Zach Hynes got the offense started with a one-out double. Smith reached on a walk and, with two outs, Yoder reached on a throwing error to load the bases. The Eagles took advantage of the miscue when Sanderson singled to drive home two runs and Fulk followed with a run-scoring single up the middle to put the Eagles on top 10-4.
Armentrout picked up the victory with seven solid innings on the mound. He allowed four runs, all earned, on nine hits. The lefty struck out three and walked one. Tyler Slanovec worked the final two frames and allowed one run on one hit. He walked one and struck out three.
Mason paced the Eagles in Game 1 with a 3-for-3 effort. He scored twice and drove in three runs. Sanderson and Yoder each finished 2-for-4 and each drove in a pair of runs.
Randolph-Macon struck first in the second game with a run in the first off BC starter Robert Gallet. With one out, the Yellow Jackets strung together three straight singles with Benjamin's hit to left scoring Travis Lodge for the first run of the game.
The Eagles answered with a run in the bottom of the inning to tie the score. Fulk walked with one out and moved to second on an errant pickoff throw. Mason then ripped a double over the rightfielder's head to put the Eagles on the board.
Bridgewater took the lead in the bottom of the second on a solo homer by Smith and added another run in the fourth to lead 3-1. Walling led off the fourth with a double and took third on Yoder's groundout. With two outs, Fulk singled to score Walling, making the score 3-1.
A Yoder solo blast in the sixth made it 4-1 and the Eagles then put the game away with two runs in the seventh and two more in the eight.
Hynes led off the seventh with a single and took second on a sacrifice bunt. With two outs, Yoder walked and Sanderson's followed with a two-run double to the opposite field, making the score 6-1.
Bridgewater added its final two runs in the eighth on a run-scoring grounder by Hynes and a run-scoring single by Smith.
Sanderson led the Eagles 15-hit attack with a 3-for-5 effort and two RBIs. Fulk, Hacker, Smith, Walling and Yoder each added two hits.
Gallet picked up the win as he allowed just one run on eight hits in seven innings of work. He struck out three and walked three. Kyle Henshaw and Nick Corbin each pitched on shutout inning to finish off the second game.