Bridgewater College’s baseball team gathers in the dugout before taking the field in their matchup against McDaniel College. Prior to this game, Bridgewater had never beaten McDaniel, losing their last two meetings by just two runs.

Bridgewater’s starting pitcher Nick Harris, class of 2026, delivers a pitch to secure his first strikeout out among the seven he would have in this game. Harris completed four innings pitched, allowing only two earned runs and three hits.

McDaniel’s starting pitcher Tyson Nercessian, class of 2026, prepares to fire a pitch. Nercessian and left-handed reliever Aiden Castile, class of 2027, combined for six innings pitched, three hits and only one run scored. Castile recorded five strikeouts in what was a dominant two-thirds of the game.

Catcher Spencer Sigmon, class of 2026, digs into the box as the second batter of the seventh inning after the leadoff man drew a walk. Sigmon sent a single into right field, which was followed by another walk, loading the bases with no outs as Bridgewater looked to mount a comeback from a 5-1 deficit.

Third-baseman Trent Holland, class of 2026, loads up to send a deep fly-ball into center field in the seventh Inning. This translated into an RBI on a sacrifice fly, scoring shortstop Isaac Sumpter, class of 2026, from third base and making the score 5-2.

First-baseman Chandler Vabak, class of 2027, stands on base after slicing an RBI double down the left-field line, bringing home pinch runner Eli Weese, class of 2028. This hit in the bottom of the seventh inning would cut McDaniel’s lead to 5-3.

Outfielder Bryce Suters, class of 2026, drives a two-RBI single into left field in the bottom of the seventh inning, scoring Valbak and Nick Stavros, class of 2026. Bridgewater’s bats surged to knot the game up at five, capping the inning off with four runs scored on three hits.

Valbak steps up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning as the lead off batter, delivering with a walk-off homerun. The heroics from the bat of Valback would seal Bridgewater’s first-ever win over McDaniel with a 6-5 victory. Valback ended the game with four hits on five at bats, two RBIs and two extra base hits.