MOUNT BERRY, Ga. -- Alex Gonzalez homered on the second pitch of the game, but the Covenant baseball team's offense could not keep up with Berry as the host Vikings swept the Scots, 11-6 and 14-0, in a season-opening doubleheader on Monday at Bowdoin Field.
GAME ONE: Berry 11, Covenant 6
Gonzalez hit the second pitch of the season over the left field fence, but Berry scored in seven different innings to pull away for an 11-6 win over the Scots.
Gonzalez and Lewis Saunders had two hits apiece for Covenant, while McKaleb Harlemon and Gonzalez each scored twice.
The homer for Gonzalez was his first of the year and put the Scots up 1-0 in the first. Berry answered back with two runs in its half of the first and one more in the second to take a 3-1 lead.
Covenant scored twice in the third to even the score. Ken Burke singled and Gonzalez reached on a hit-by-pitch to start the frame. A Berry error allowed Burke to score and Saunders delivered a two-out, RBI double to bring in the tying run.
A three-run homer from Wesley Wade in the bottom of the third gave Berry the lead for good at 6-3. Covenant sliced the margin to 7-5 in the fifth on a Hunter Christian RBI single to deep left field, but that was as close as the Scots would get. Joseph Ridenour added an RBI single in the eighth for Covenant's final tally.
Adam Carver (0-1) made the start for the Scots while Judah O'Neal, Aaron Northcutt, Kenny Mills, and Tristen Green also saw time on the mound.
Wade was one of three Berry hitters with two hits in the game as the Vikings got 11 hits. Ben Coker (1-0) took the win on the mound.
GAME TWO: Berry 14, Covenant 0
Berry scored five runs in the first and eight in the third to take a 14-0 win in a scheduled seven-inning affair.
Covenant was limited to two hits in the game as Brooks DuBose and Mills had one each. Nick Pettit (0-1) got the loss on the hill.
Tyler Calvert hit a three-run homer in the third inning and Levi Cloud had two hits and four RBIs to lead Berry offensively. Garrett West (1-0) tossed three scoreless innings in his start.