BREVARD, N.C. – The Brevard College baseball team (8-7, 1-0 USA South) opened up USA South Conference action on Friday afternoon at Gil Coan Field, using an eighth-inning score and a shutdown ninth to take a 7-6 victory over Southern Virginia University (2-7, 0-1 USAS).
 
Lucas Granata led all Tornados with a three-hit performance, scoring two of BC's seven runs while also driving in an RBI. Logan Clark and Luke Morton each went 2-for-5 with a run scored each, as the top-three in BC's lineup recorded seven out of Brevard's eight hits. Kenny Pridmore recorded a double in his first at-bat as well, while Nico Bartolotti, CP Pyle, and Logan Sawyer all came across to score in the game for the Tornados.
 
Connor Crosby turned in his best performance of the season in the USA South opener, throwing seven innings allowing nine hits and three earned runs with seven strikeouts. Andy Fahringer (2-0) was the pitcher of record after the Tornados scored a run in the bottom of the eighth, while Cesar Rodriguez – in just his second appearance of the season – recorded the save with a 1-2-3 top of the ninth.
 
Eight different Knights recorded base hits in the game, as SVU tallied 11 total knocks. Three SVU players recorded extra-base hits as well, outhitting the Tornados 11-8 in the game.
 
BC got off to a hot start, as Granata and Morton led things off with consecutive singles. Clark punched a RBI single to left field to get the scoring started, and Frankie Vasquez lined a sacrifice fly to center that brought Morton across to score. Pridmore capped a three-run bottom of the first off with an RBI double just inside the third-base line.
 
Crosby and the Tornados shut SVU out through the first three innings, but a four-run top of the fourth gave the Knights a 4-3 advantage.
 
After going down in order in the bottom of the fourth, a Bartolotti one-out HBP kickstarted a rally in the bottom of the fifth as Granata and Morton followed suit with consecutive singles. Cale Oehler was hit by a pitch with two outs and the bases loaded, tying the game at 4-4. A SVU fielding error allowed BC's fifth run of the game to score as the Tornados were back in front, 5-4.
 
BC added a run in the bottom of the sixth on a Granata RBI single that brought Logan Sawyer around to score, and Crosby shut down the Knights in the top of the seventh to leave the game with a 6-4 advantage.
 
SVU utilized a Tornado error and used two base hits, a walk, and a HBP to score a pair of runs off Fahringer in the top of the eighth, as the visitors tied things back up at 6-6.
 
Pyle led off the bottom of the eighth by drawing a walk, and Sawyer was hit by a pitch. With one out, Granata put the ball in play and a throwing error allowed Pyle to score from second, as the Tornados found themselves back on top, 7-6, with three outs left to get.
 
Rodriguez, a senior LHP from Hialeah, Florida, entered the game and sat down the Knights in order to give Brevard a narrow victory in its USA South opener.
 
The Tornados and Knights will play in a doubleheader to conclude the series tomorrow beginning at 12 p.m. at Gil Coan Field.
 
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