Bridgewater College opened its ODAC schedule Saturday afternoon by taking both games of a doubleheader from Virginia Wesleyan. The Eagles won the first game 10-3 and then took Game 2 by a score of 4-1.
Kevin Chandler pitched a complete game in the opener to lead the Eagles to the victory. Chandler allowed three runs, all earned, on eight hits. He struck out five and walked one.
Things didn’t start out well for Chandler as he allowed two runs on three hits in the first inning. Josh Miller and Matt Ittner delivered run-scoring singles to give the Marlins a quick 2-0 lead.
The lead didn’t last long as the Eagles answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning. Devon Snow led off with a triple and scored on a single by Alex Nuttycombe to trim the margin to 2-1. Bryan Sanderson then doubled to the gap in leftcenter to score Nuttycombe with the tying run. Andrew Hacker then singled through the left side of the infield, scoring Sanderson and to put the Eagles on top 3-2.
The Eagles padded their lead with two runs in the second. Zach Hynes led off with a single and stole second. Hines scored on a single by Darren Yoder, making the score 4-2. Yoder eventually scored on a groundout by Nuttycombe as the Eagles took a 5-2 lead.
The Eagles added one in the third and two more in the fourth. Hacker led off the third with a single and advanced to second when the ball was misplayed in the outfield. Hacker advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch to put the Eagles up 6-2. In the fourth, Yoder reached on a bloop double and scored on a homer to left by Sanderson, making the score 8-2.
The teams traded runs in the seventh with the Eagles scoring on a run-scoring single by Hynes. BC scored its final run in the eighth on a run-scoring double by Hacker for the final 10-3 margin.
Hacker was 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs and Sanderson was 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Nuttycombe was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Hynes finished 2-for-3 with one run batted in.
Game 2 turned out to be a pitcher’s duel between Eagles lefty Joseph Lucas and Marlins righthander Anthony Siracusa.
The Eagles struck first with a run in the third. Snow led off with a double and moved to third on a bunt single by Nuttycombe. Sanderson then singled to center to score Snow for a 1-0 BC lead.
The Marlins scored their only run in the top of the fourth. With two outs, Siracusa and Miller single to put runners at the corners. Nathan Chamberlin then hit a grounder that third baseman Jay Thompson made a diving stop on. Thompson’s throw from his knees was low and Hacker was unable to dig up the low throw as Siracusa scored to tie the score.
The score remained 1-1 until the Eagles took the upper hand in the sixth. With one out, Derrick Walling and Christian Armstrong stroked back-to-back singles. Both runners moved up on a passed ball, putting two runners in scoring position. With the infield in, Yoder hit a grounder that glanced off the glove of diving shortstop Miller and both runners scored to put the Eagles up 3-1.
The Eagles added an insurance run in the eighth when Walling doubled and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Armstrong. Walling scored on a passed ball for a 4-1 BC lead.
Lucas worked 7.1 innings to pick up the win. He allowed one run on eight hits while striking out two and walking one. Corey Armentrout pitched a hitless inning and Robert Gallet recorded the final two outs.
Snow, Nuttycombe, Sanderson and Walling each finished with a pair of hits for the Eagles.
With the two victories, the Eagles improved to 14-4 overall and 2-0 in the ODAC. The Marlins dropped to 2-9, 0-2 in the conference
The Eagles are back in action Wednesday afternoon when they host Baptist Bible in non-conference action. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
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