BRIDGEWATER, Va. – The Bridgewater College pitching staff turned in another strong performance and Brendan Howell broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run homer in the sixth inning to propel the Eagles to a 7-2 victory Thursday over Ferrum College in a non-conference baseball game.
Ferrum took the lead in the first against Bridgewater starter Dillon Via. With one out, Taryn Hayden singled and moved to second on a groundout. Hayden advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Ty Comer's infield single over the bag at third for a 1-0 Panthers lead.
The Eagles, ranked No. 19 in the latest D3Baseball.com poll, scratched out a run in the bottom of the second to tie the score. Zach Hynes walked and moved to second on a wild pitch. Hynes moved to third on a groundout by Darren Yoder and scored on a passed ball to even the score.
The score remained tied until the sixth inning. Ferrum missed a chance to regain the lead in the top of the inning as a base running miscue thwarted the opportunity. Hank Parsley singled off Bridgewater relief pitcher Justin Petock to lead off the inning before Reynolds struck out for the first out. Comer then followed with a double to the gap in left center. Parsley was held at third, but Comer rounded the bag at second and was caught in a rundown between second and third. Hynes tagged Comer out and then threw home to erase Parsley at the plate as the inning ended with the score still deadlocked.
The Eagles took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Bay Liskey reached on an error and Howell followed with a two-run homer to right-center, giving Bridgewater a 3-1 lead.
The Eagles added four more runs in the seventh for a 7-1 advantage. Hunter Hensley led off with a walk and Cavin Clyde put down a sacrifice bunt toward third. Clyde was safe when Comer's throw sailed into the Ferrum bullpen and Hensley scored all the way from first on the errant throw, making the score 4-1. With Clyde on third, Derrik Walling lined a single to right for a 5-1 Eagles lead. Nick Fulk bunted for a single, putting runners at first and second, and both base runners moved up on a wild pitch. Walling scored on a run-scoring groundout by Bryan Sanderson and Fulk raced home on a wild pitch to put the Eagles on top 7-1.
The Panthers threatened to get back in the game in the eighth when they loaded the bases with no outs against Bridgewater reliever Tyler Conley. Clay Massie led off with a bunt single and Conley walked Justin Cox and Hayden to load the sacks. Conley bounced back and whiffed Parsley and Reynolds. Conley came within one pitch of escaping unscathed, but Comer's slow roller down the third base line went for a hit as Massie scored to make the score 7-2. With the bases still full, Conley minimized the damage as he struck out Lane Deaver to end the Ferrum threat.
Via turned in a strong outing in his first start of the season after earning saves in his first two appearances. The big righty worked five innings and allowed one run on four hits. He struck out eight and walked two. Petock picked up the win with two scoreless frames. He allowed two hits and struck out one batter. After Conley worked the eighth, Robert Gallet finished up, allowing one hit and striking out one in the ninth. The four Bridgewater pitchers combined to strike out 13 batters.
Howell's two-run homer was one of just four hits for the Eagles. Clyde had a double in three at-bats while Walling and Fulk were both 1-for-3.
Comer and Massie had three hits apiece to lead Ferrum's nine-hit attack.
With the victory, Bridgewater improved to 6-1 on the season while Ferrum dropped to 5-2.
The Eagles return to action Saturday when they open conference play with a doubleheader at Randolph-Macon. First pitch is scheduled for noon.