Bridgewater College closed out its spring break trip with a 3-2 victory Wednesday over Aurora.
The Eagles finished the trip with a 3-3 record and improved to 12-4 on the season. Aurora, like the Eagles, received votes in the most recent d3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25 poll. The Spartans are now 4-2 on the season.
Senior rightnander John Bayse turned in a strong performance to lead the Eagles to the victory. Bayse pitched 7.2 innings and allowed two run on six hits. He struct out five and walked three.
The Eagles staked Bayse to a quick lead with a run in the top of the first inning. Alex Nuttycombe singled to right and moved to second on a wild pitch. Sanderson singled to left, moving Nuttycombe to third and Jonathan Mason followed with a sacrifice fly, giving BC a 1-0 lead.
The Eagles padded the lead with two runs in the sixth. Sanderson reached on an error and moved to second on a groundout. Sanderson scored when Jay Thompson’s grounder was misplayed, giving the Eagles a 2-0 lead. Andrew Hacker then singled, moving Thompson into scoring position and Derrick Walling plated Thompson with a single to right, putting the Eagles on top 3-0.
The Spartans finally got to Bayse in the eighth. Aurora plated one run and had the bases loaded with two outs when the Eagles went to the bullpen. Tyler Slanovec walked the only batter he faced, forcing in a run as Aurora pulled to within 3-2. Robert Gallet then entered the game for the Eagles and retired the next hitter to preserve the 3-2 lead. Gallet worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn the save in the 3-2 victory.
Hacker was the lone BC player with multiple hits as he finished the day 2-for-4.
The Eagles will open ODAC play Saturday afternoon when they host Virginia Wesleyan College.
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