Eagles Avenge Loss to Tigers, 13-5
Double Play is Pitchers’ Best Friend in Win
April 28, 2007  -  Box Score

LYNCHBURG, Va. --- Bridgewater College (20-21) made amends for its shutout loss to Hampden-Sydney College (24-17) the night before, defeating the Tigers X-X to earn a spot in the title game of the 2007 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Baseball Championship.

The double play proved to be the Eagles’ best friend.  Bridgewater pitchers induced five Hampden-Sydney double plays, two coming with runners in scoring position.  In the fourth inning, shortstop Jono Brooks helped start Fred Duquette out of a first and third jam stepping on the bag at second for the force and firing to first to complete the inning.

Alex Foltz gets his first collegiate win with a strong relief outing.  In five innings of work, he surrendered two unearned runs on five hits while walking one and striking out three.  Mike Graves and Brad Buracker led the offense with three hits apiece.  Four other Eagles collected two hits.

Josh Michael went 3-for-4 with a run batted in to lead the Tigers’ at the plate.  John Apperson and Ben Brawley also collected two hits apiece.

Bridgewater jumped out to a 6-0 lead by putting up one run in the first and second innings and scoring a pair each in the third and fourth frames.  Graves scored the game’s first run, coming home on a single through the left side by Andy Chrismer.  Mitchell Edwards led off the second inning with a double down the left-field line.  He moved to through on a sacrifice by Buracker, and covered the final 90-feet on a grounder to short by Brooks.

Michael Lenox was responsible for the two runs in the top half of the third inning, smacking his second homer of the season over the left-center field fence.  Ricky Read picked up both RBI in the fourth inning, driving in Brooks and Graves with a double to left field.

Hampden-Sydney jumped back into the game with three runs in the fifth inning.  Michael drove in Anthony Denale by walking with the bases loaded, and Harrell followed in the same fashion with a free pass to first to bring in Daniel Prieto.  Luke Swiney came home on the next at-bat via a passed ball by the Bridgewater catcher.

The Eagles recovered two of those runs in the sixth.  Graves drove in Buracker with a sacrifice fly to centerfield, and Brooks came in two batters later on a single through the left side by Chrismer to put HSC ahead 8-3.

Bridgewater broke the game open with three more in the seventh inning.  Chance Dobbs picked up a pair of runs batted in, driving in Aaron Read and Edwards with a single to center.  Dobbs advanced to third when the throw bounded past the catcher untouched and went to the backstop.  He came home during the next at-bat, a double to right field by Buracker.

The Tigers drew closer with a pair in the eighth inning, the first of which scoring on another passed ball by the Bridgewater catcher.  Daniel Prieto drove in Denale on the next at-bat with a single to left field.

Brooks brought two more around for Bridgewater in the top of the ninth.  Brooks lined a shot into the left-center field gap for a triple to drive in Dobbs and Buracker.  After the throw from the cut-off man skipped past the third baseman, Brooks darted for home but was thrown out before reaching the plate.

Hampden-Sydney will square off with Lynchburg College for a chance to meet Bridgewater in the title game.  The Tigers and Hornets will play at 1:00 p.m. with the championship game against the Eagles scheduled for 4:00 p.m.  Both games will be played in City Stadium in Lynchburg.