Bridgewater, Va.- On March 7, the Eagles defeated cross-town rival Mary Baldwin in a one-sided contest, supported by strong performances at the plate from sophomores Camden Herron and Lucas Bauer.

This past Tuesday evening, the Eagles showed out to play in large thanks to first-year Nick Harris’s presence on the mound. With his final four innings of work on the mound, Harris’s performance on the day came to a successful conclusion with no earned runs and just two base runners allowed.

The Eagles’ initial game plan did not work out as they allowed an unearned run due to an error. 

Due to a failed pick off attempt, the Fighting Squirrels’ sophomore Michael Robertson took a walk to start the game and advanced all around the base pads. The ground ball gave the Fighting Squirrels a 1-0 lead.

The Eagles started well at the bottom of the first with some hard-hit balls. They were able to take advantage of a base-loaded situation by drawing a couple of walks of their own to bring fifth-year Jaret Biesecker and junior Brandan Hartman home, giving them their first lead of the game.

After recording two strikeouts for the away team, Mary Baldwin sophomore Dylan Weatherly appeared to be settling in a bit for the bottom of the second, when the Eagles were unable to put any points on the board.

In the bottom of the third, the Eagles provided Harris with extra run support, allowing him to unwind a bit more on the mound. With a sharply hit ball that became a double to start the bottom of the third inning, Bauer was able to reach home plate thanks to a wild pitch. 

Herron also doubled deep in left field, allowing fifth-year Timothy Hopson to score, giving the Eagles a 4-1 lead.

After the Eagles’ rocky start to the season, it appeared that they were pressing all the right buttons during this contest. The team’s head coach, Ben Spotts, preaches perseverance, saying that all it takes to have a chance in this league is to reach the playoffs and be playing your best baseball as the season draws to a close.

“All I would say is that our record does not define who we are,” said Herron. “Coach always emphasizes the idea of playing our best baseball at the end of the season and I have no doubt that’s what we will be doing.”

The Eagles added four more runs for the home team in the fifth inning, further compounding the damage done to the Fighting Squirrels. Hartman’s crucial single with the bases loaded increased his team-leading RBI total and brought in two runners.

As Harris’ outstanding day was over at the top of the sixth, senior Bowe Rogers was called into action. After giving up a base single to begin the inning, Rogers recovered his rhythm and finished the top half of the frame with a solid zero on the scoreboard. 

A fielder’s choice scored two runs for the Eagles in the bottom of the inning.

Rogers returned to the mound for the seventh and impressively struck out the side. The fun was not done for the Eagles batters as they added four more runs to the tally to make it 14 after a Hopson RBI single and a bases-clearing single by Herron. 

The final score on the day was a commanding 14-2 win for the Eagles. 

“We finally were able to click as a team and that all started with getting a great start from Nick Harris on the mound,” said Hopson. “It’s a win we needed, and I think it will get us going in the right direction. We will carry this momentum into our upcoming games.”

On Wednesday, the Eagles were able to defeat the Christopher Newport Captains in a non-conference game and secure a critical victory. The Eagles lost a doubleheader in two fiercely contested games while traveling to Lynchburg. 

This coming Tuesday, March 14 at 3 p.m., the Eagles will play a non-conference game in Fredericksburg to get back on track.