Monday, February 13, 2012

Brevard, N.C.—The Alderson-Broaddus baseball team got their season underway this weekend at Brevard College, falling in all three games to the Tornados 5-4, 13-7, and 9-8.

Game One: Brevard 5, Alderson-Broaddus 4 (8 innings)

In game one, the Battlers (0-1) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a Jeff Conley two-run homer. However, A-B pitcher Paul Gonzales walked three batters in the bottom of the second, allowing the Tornados (1-2) to even the score. Each team tacked on another run in the third inning. Mitch Roy doubled to lead off the inning for the Battlers, advancing to third on a Conley bunt single and scoring on a Sean Collette sacrifice fly. However, Cody Queen homered as Brevard’s first batter of the inning to knot the score at 3-3.

Brevard took its first lead of the game in the bottom of the sixth on a Zach Merriken solo home-run, but the lead didn’t last for long. Brandon Gignac walked to start the seventh inning for A-B and eventually scored on a fielder’s choice by Roy, giving the game it’s third tie at 4-4. Seth Martin, pitching in relief for the Battlers, forced the Tornados into a trio of flyouts in the bottom of the seventh to send the game into extra innings.

The Battlers went three-up, three-down in the top of the eighth, and Brevard scored the deciding run when Tarron Robinson scored from third on a passed ball.

Seth Martin (0-1) took the loss on the mound for A-B, despite not giving up a single earned run and striking out 4 in his 2.1 innings of action. Gonzales finished with four earned runs, three strikeouts, and four walks in his 5.1 innings. Conley led the Battlers offense, going 2-4 with 2 RBI, including the home run, while second baseman Dave Bryan went 2-2 with a pair of singles.

Game Two: Brevard 13, Alderson-Broaddus 7

Errors plagued the Battlers (0-2) from the beginning of game two, as Brevard (2-2) leadoff batter Eric Renegar reached on a throwing error and eventually scored to give the Tornados a lead that they would never relinquish. A-B started off the second inning hot; Mike Hackett led off with a double and scored after back-to-back singles by Kirby Clemens and Bobby Williams, tying the game at 1-1. However, Brevard responded with a 4-run bottom of the 2^nd to take a 5-1 lead.

The Battlers answered with a three-run top of the 3rd, with Roy, Collette, Hackett, and Williams all collecting hits in the inning. Brevard’s bats stayed hot, though, and the Tornadoes tacked on four runs in the 3^rd inning and two more in the 4^th to extend their lead out to 11-4. A-B closed the gap to 11-6 in the top of the 5^th on a Clemens single, as both Collette and Bobby McLaughlin scored after each was hit by a pitch earlier in the inning. Brevard would add a run in both the sixth and seventh innings, while Clemens homered in the top of the 7^th to close the scoring for A-B.

Kyle Oney (0-1) got the start and took the loss on the mound for the Battlers, giving up 6 runs (5 earned) in just 2.0 innings of action. Bobby Colton gave up five runs in his two innings of relief, while Derek McDowell pitched the final two innings, giving up two runs (one earned). Clemens went 3-4 with 3 RBI, including the home run, to lead the A-B offense, while Hackett and Williams each added two hits apiece. 

Joseph Lepore (1-0) earned the win in relief for Brevard, giving up three runs over four innings of action. Randy O’Dell led the Tornadoes by going 3-4, including a home run and a double, and 5 RBI, while Renegar also added three hits.

The Battlers were plagued by five errors during the game.

Game Three: Brevard 9, Alderson-Broaddus 8

Zach Merriken was both Brevard’s first and last batter in the bottom of the ninth, hitting a walk-off solo home run to give the Tornadoes a hard-fought 9-8 victory over the Battlers in a scheduled 9-inning contest.

A-B (0-3) got out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the 1^st on a Clemens single that brought David Bryan around to score; however, a costly base-running out kept the Battlers from taking full advantage, as they left the bases loaded.

Clemens scored in the top of the third as Conley reached on a Brevard error, and A-B added two more in the top of the fourth on singles by Roy and Bryan and three Tornado errors to extend the lead to 4-0. Once again, the Battlers failed to capitalize completely, leaving a runner in scoring position by batting into an inning-ending double play.

Both Clemens and Conley walked to start the top of the 5^th, but Clemens got caught in a rundown on a double-steal attempt and was picked off. Conley scored on a Hackett double, giving the Battlers a 5-0 lead. Brevard finally found its offense in the bottom of the inning, scoring three runs on a bases-loaded double by Robinson to close the gap to 5-3.

A-B loaded the bases with its first three batters in the 6^th but only managed to get one run home, extending their lead back to three runs. The Tornados added two more runs in the bottom of the inning to narrow the deficit to 6-5. The seventh inning was just the second of the game in which the Battlers failed to score, but Brevard took advantage scoring two more to take their first lead at 7-6. The Battlers responded, with Clemens driving Bryan home on a single and Collette scoring on a triple steal to reclaim an 8-7 lead.

Brevard knotted up the score in the eighth and held the Battlers scoreless in the top of the 9^th to set up Merriken’s game-winner.

Roy, Bryan, Collette, and Clemens each had three hits for the Battlers, with Clemens adding 3 RBI, but the rest of the team managed just one hit and A-B stranded 12 runners on base.

Hackett (0-1) took the loss for the battlers, giving up two runs in two innings of relief. Conley got the start, lasting 5.2 innings and giving up five runs while striking out five and walking six. Jacob Hinton relieved Conley for just more than a third of an inning, facing three batters before being replaced by Hackett.

Jonathan Bathea (1-0) earned the victory for Brevard giving up just one hit over the final 1.2 innings of action, and the Tornados were led offensively by Robinson and Chris Queen, who had three hits each.

A-B will return to action this Saturday and Sunday when they travel to Virginia State University for a three-game series.