BRIDGEWATER, Va. – A high scoring fifth inning secured a statement 18-1 win for the Bridgewater College Eagles Baseball team over the Mary Baldwin University (MBU) Fighting Squirrels on March 10.
According to bridgewatereagles.com, in the 10 times the Eagles and Fighting Squirrels have faced off, the Eagles have never left without a win.
After a slow start for both teams, the Fighting Squirrels scored a run at the top of the second inning, giving them the lead. Bridgewater answered with a run of their own. Senior designated hitter Zack Chadwell then hit a double, leading three runners to home, which left the Eagles with an early 4-1 lead.
“We were down one nothing, tied it up one to one, and then Zack came up and hit a hard line drive double into the gap to clear the bases,” Garrett Gargano, a senior outfielder, said. “I think that was the play that got us the most excited and allowed us to keep adding on.”
After a MBU fielding error in the bottom of the third inning, senior shortstop Isaac Sumpter advanced to home plate, adding on to the lead for Bridgewater.
After a no-run fourth inning, the Eagles dominated in the fifth starting with a double by Bryce Suters, leading two runners to home plate. The Eagles went on to score thirteen runs in the inning, making their lead 18-1.
“We knew we were gonna have a big inning sooner or later, we weren’t expecting it to be 13,” Gargano said. “It felt really good that we could keep that focus after scoring that many runs to have the lead like we did.”
After another quiet sixth and seventh innings from the Fighting Squirrels, the mercy rule allowed the game to end after the top of the seventh, resulting in the Eagles winning 18-1.
“Coming off a rough weekend, this was good just to get back out there and, like, see the guys perform the way that we expect them to perform,” senior outfielder Luke Tomajczyk said.
With an overall record of 13-2, the Bridgewater Eagles are now ranked No. 14 in the nation, according to d3baseball.com.
“This feels good for the team as a whole,” Gargano said. “It just shows that the hard work and all the effort and focus and long days that we’ve put in has started to pay off.”
However, Tomajczyk said the Eagles know they need to keep motivated to get even better.
“As quickly as we got here, we can get knocked back off,” he said.
Following their strong start to the season, Head Coach Ben Spotts said the team has more goals they want to achieve.
“We’re trying to compete to win a conference championship, a regional championship, and get to the college world series for our level and try to win it,” Spotts said. “I think that can be a reality.”
