WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – Seniors Greg Ruddy, Chris Davis and Wesley Burghardt combined for eight hits together in an offensive battle which The College at Brockport Baseball team fell 14-6 to undefeated Western New England at Chain of Lakes baseball complex.
Brockport (8-3) and Western New England (4-0) totaled 35 hits together with the Golden Eagles tallying 14. Burghardt helped Brockport reenergize the Green and Gold with a two run home run in the seventh inning, sending a shot soaring over the left field fence that caught a wind stream that almost carried it into one of the lakes on site.
The Green and Gold fell behind early, trailing 3-0 after the top of the first inning. The Golden Bears tacked on another run in the third before the Golden Eagles sent their first runner around the bases in the bottom half of the inning.
Drew DeBlasiis walked to start the inning before Ruddy roped a ball into right field sending DeBlasiis to third. He scored on a fielder's choice which gave Paul Ludden a run batted in.
Brockport added another run in the fifth on another fielder's choice aided by a throwing error. Burghardt and Davis singled to put runners on first and second. Josh Martin hit a ball sharply to the shortstop who sent it to the second baseman forcing the out before an errant throw to first scored Burghardt.
Nine runs total were scored in the seventh inning including four by Brockport. Ludden led the inning off with a single before Burghardt blasted one over the fence. Davis singled to right field to keep the inning going. Ryan Jurgens walked before head coach Justin Beach made some adjustments, pinch hitting Eli Carrera and putting Mike Carson on first as a pinch runner.
Carrera responded with a shot down the left field line for a run scoring double that cut Brockport's deficit down to 11-5. Dane Cala's groundout to first base allowed another run to score as both runners advanced.
Josh Appel threw 1.1 scoreless innings to close out the game for Brockport while Ruddy and Davis each finished with three singles as Burghardt provided the fireworks with the lone long ball of the game.
Brockport is scheduled for an early morning contest tomorrow. The Golden Eagles will play Springfield at 9 a.m. at the Chain of Lakes Stadium. Be sure to stay up to date on all the Golden Eagle scores and awards by following @BportAthletics on Twitter and by liking the "Brockport Golden Eagles" Facebook page.