LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Bridgewater College Eagles tuned up for next week's ODAC Baseball Tournament with a pair of one-run victories Saturday over the Lynchburg College Hornets. The Eagles won the opener 2-1 and then took the second game 3-2.
Joseph Lucas scattered nine hits over 7.1 innings in the opener to pick up the victory on the mound for the Eagles. Lucas allowed just one run while striking out five and walking just one. Nick Corbin recorded the final five outs to pick up the save.
The Hornets scored their only run in the second and held the 1-0 lead until the Eagles evened the score in the top of the fifth inning.
Zach Hynes was hit by a pitch to start the inning and he moved to second on Darren Yoder's sacrifice bunt. Hynes moved up to third on a passed ball before scoring on Bryan Sanderson's two-out single to right field.
The Eagles pushed across the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth. Sanderson led off with a walk and moved to third on a double by Jonathan Mason. Sanderson scored on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Smith, giving the Eagles a 2-1 lead.
The Hornets threatened in the bottom of the inning as one-out singles by Brock Shifflet and Dan Savage ended the day for Lucas. Joe Rogers greeted Corbin with a single to right, but Eagles rightfielder Mason threw pinch-runner Drew Taylor out at the plate to preserve the 2-1 lead. Corbin then retired Dustin Arrowood on a grounder to short to end the inning.
Corbin retired the side in order in the ninth to finish off the Eagles 2-1 victory.
Game two followed a similar script as pitching dominated the day.
The Hornets once again jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, but once again the Eagles tied the score with a run in the fifth.
With one out in the fifth, Christian Armstrong reached base with a single to center. Armstrong scored on a two-out double by Sanderson to tie the score at 1-1.
The scored remained deadlocked until the Eagles scored two times in the eighth.
Andrew Hacker led off the eighth with a double and with one out, the Hornets intentionally walked Yoder. Both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch and Hacker scored on a throwing error by the catcher on the play to put the Eagles on top 2-1. With Yoder now on third, Hynes plated the run with a sacrifice fly, giving the Eagles a 3-1 lead.
Lynchburg threatened in the ninth when it put two runners on with no outs. Corbin then came in out of the pen and retired the first two batters he faced. Savage kept the Hornets alive with a run-scoring single, but Corbin retired Rogers on a grounder to second to pick up his second save of the day.
Robert Gallet pitched into the seventh but did not factor into the decision. He allowed just one run on five hits while striking out seven and walking four. Justin Petock recorded the final out in the seventh and picked up the victory on the mound.
The Eagles enter the ODAC tournament with a 28-9 record. Bridgewater finished its ODAC schedule with a 19-1 record.