Bridgewater Baseball defeats Hood College 8-0

Dylan Simpkins, Staff Writer

Bridgewater Va.- On March 21, the Bridgewater baseball team defeated Hood College 8-0, advancing their record to 10-14 on the season.

The Blazers threatened to score early in the first inning, as the visitors drew three walks and eventually loaded the bases. First-year Austin Rhue got a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch before scoring on a sacrifice bunt. 

As the bases were still loaded, the runner on third base was struck with a ground out before two more walks were given up loading the bases again. First-year Jaden Isidro came up huge by getting Christian Reyna out and retiring the side, without giving up a run and leaving all three runners stranded.

“It made me feel good after a rocky start to the game,” said Isidro. 

The game went quickly, with multiple one-two-three innings before the Eagles rallied in the sixth. 

Senior Jarret Biesecker led off with a looping single to left, and graduate student Brett Tharp’s bunt base hit placed runners on first and second with one out. Sophomore Brandan Hartman singled up the middle, scoring Biesecker from second to put BC up 1-0.

The Eagles did not stop there as junior Collin Reid blasted a single into the right wall, which lead to a Tharpe score, and followed by an RBI double hit by junior Hunter Clever to set up a Hartman score boosting the Eagles’ lead to 3-0. 

After junior Jeffrey Snider took a walk and freshman Isaac Sumpter was hit by a pitch, the bases were loaded. First-year Camden Herron hit an infield single to second base that deflected off the glove of a sliding second baseman, scoring Clever and making the score 4-0. 

“That was a great way to score in an inning, and it pretty much set the tone for the whole game,” said Tharpe.

In the following inning, Biesecker walked and came around to score on a fielding error following a base single by Tharp, making the score 5-0. In the eighth inning, Herron and Sumpter scored on another fielding mistake by the left fielder following a single by sophomore TJ Johnson, who also scored during the next at-bat.

Hood College went down one-two-three in the final inning concluding the shutout for the Eagles, boosting their record to 10-14 on the season. 

Game Stats

Tharp, Hartman, Clever and Herron all had two hits in the win, including Hartman going 2-for-3 with an RBI, a run scored and a walk. Clever and Herron each went 2-for-4 on the day. 

Biesecker had a hit and reached base on a walk because he was hit by a pitch. He scored two runs and drove in another.

Isidro got the nod to start on the mound and went 5.0 innings and scattered just two hits with a pair of strikeouts. The first-year settled in after walking three batters in the first and did not surrender a free base for the remainder of his outing.

Senior Bowe Rogers put down a tremendous relief effort of 4.0 shutout innings with six strikeouts compared to just one walk on three hits to earn the first victory of his collegiate career. The two combined to toss the first shutout of the season for the Eagles.

Ten pitchers took the hill for the Blazers as the visiting staff scattered 12 hits and walked three Eagles.

Bridgewater Baseball beats Averett in a doubleheader

The Eagles advance 8-12

Dylan Simpkins, Staff Writer

Bridgewater Va.- On Saturday, March 18, The Bridgewater baseball team matched up against Averett University in a doubleheader, where Bridgewater came up victorious in both games. 

Game One

Averett had a hot start to the first game by putting the first three runs up on the board during the top of the first inning. Bridgewater responded in their half of the inning as sophomore Brandon Hartman scored a two-run single to score two runners, making it 3-2 heading into the second. 

The Eagles then tied the score up, with an RBI hit by fifth-year senior Jarret Biesecker. 

Bridgewater grabbed a 4-3 lead in the fifth inning when senior Hunter Clever scored from first on a junior Jonathan Sexton single. Clever drew a bases-loaded walk in the eighth inning to score first-year Luke Tomajczyk, making the score 5-3.

Averett tied the game at 5-5 with a pair of runs in the top of the ninth inning. The Eagles loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth but were unable to plate a runner, forcing the game into extra innings.

The Cougars’ defeat came at the beginning of the tenth. 

Junior Isaiah Blanks reached on a throwing error and advanced to second after the first baseman’s pick-off attempt failed. Blanks came around to score on graduate student Brett Tharp’s walk-off single, giving the Eagles a 6-5 win.

“After the first of the doubleheader, I felt good that we were going to win the next one,” said graduate student Brett Tharp. 

Game Two

The Eagles’ defense committed five mistakes in the first period of game two, allowing the Cougars to score four runs on only one hit, all of which were unearned. AU extended their lead to 5-0 with a run in the second.

The Eagles responded as first-year Isaac Sumpter was walked and then after a single by Tomajczyk found himself on third base. Both runners were able to score from Clever’s triple. 

The Cougars answered with two runs in the third to take a 7-3 lead. Bridgewater surged for seven runs on eight hits in the sixth inning to tie the game. Tharp brought in Carlson with an RBI single, and Clever scored on a wild pitch. 

Biesecker scored shortly later on a wayward pitch. Tharp came around to score on Hartman’s RBI single, and junior Jefferey Snider also scored. 

Sumpter singled up the middle to score junior Collin Reid, and then Sumpter scored on Carlson’s single to give Bridgewater a 10-7 lead.

The lead didn’t last long, as the Cougars tied the game at 10-10 with three runs on two hits in the following half-inning. The score remained unchanged until the ninth inning.

“Going into the last inning we felt good about where we were at considering how we started the game,” said Clever. 

Biesecker led off the bottom of the ninth inning with an infield single and advanced to second on Tharp’s bunt base hit. Reid hit an RBI single through the right side of the infield to score Biesecker and give the Eagles their second walk-off victory of the day, 11-10.

Bridgewater Baseball falls short in the battle of the Eagles

By Allison Burris, Staff Writer

Bridgewater, Va.- The Bridgewater Eagles baseball team fought hard against the Mary Washington Eagles, but lost 7-3 in the away matchup. 

Bridgewater came out soaring in the first inning versus Mary Washington. Fifth-year outfielder Jarret Biesecker hit the ball to center field, allowing a trickle-down effect for the next few batters. 

Collin Reid, a senior first baseman, responded by making a double play, allowing Biesecker to run it home.

Mary Washington responded in the bottom of the first inning, bringing in two of their own to put points on the board. Bridgewater went empty-handed in the top of the second inning.

The Eagles of Mary Washington wasted no time in the bottom of the second inning, bringing one of their own to home. Mary Washington scored two more in the second inning making the score 5-1.

“Our pitchers did a good job of keeping them off balance and keeping the game close, but defensively, we made some mistakes that they were able to capitalize on,” said junior catcher Brandon Hartman.

The third inning left both teams scoreless going into the fourth. Bridgewater was unsuccessful in the top of the fourth inning, but the Eagles of Mary Washington found success in the bottom of the inning, running in two more runs to top off the fourth. 

A quick fifth inning for both teams kept the score at 7-1 for Mary Washington.

Bridgewater sparked a fire in the sixth inning as Hartman connected with the ball, sending it to left field and allowing senior infield Jeff Snider to head to second. 

Reid sent the ball to center field and Snider and Hartman up a base. The next hit by the Bridgewater Eagles allowed Hartman and Snider to run it home giving BC two additional runs. 

The Bridgewater defense held the opposing Eagles in the bottom of the sixth inning with the score at 7-3.

In the seventh, eighth and ninth inning, both teams were unsuccessful and played strong defense to keep each other scoreless. 

The final score ended with a 7-3 BC loss, in favor of the Eagles of Mary Washington.

“I think everyone on the team knows that the ability is here, and when we put it all together we can be a dangerous team for anyone to play against,” said Snider. 

Bridgewater is currently 8-12 on the season and have a packed schedule ahead of them. They began ODAC play this week and hope to come out strong, showing their opponents the improvements they have made. 

With twenty games left in the season, the Eagles have a lot of room to come out on top and end the season on a good note.