Bridgewater splits doubleheader

Robert Gallet pitched a complete game in a 5-1 victory over Guilford in the second game of a twinbill to salvage a split for the Eagles in Saturday’s doubleheader. Guilford took the opener 9-8 in 10 innings.

Gallet set the tone by retiring the first eight batters he faced and then scattered nine hits the rest of the way to lead the Eagles to the Game 2 win. He struck out eight and walked just one.

The Eagles got on the board first with a run in the second against Guilford starter Lou Trosch. With one out, Alex Nuttycombe doubled to the gap in left center. Zach Hynes then came through with a clutch two-out single to score Nuttycombe for a 1-0 BC lead.

The Quakers finally got to a Gallet with two outs in the fifth. Will Byrd and Casey Mann slapped consecutive singles before Jordan Slate doubled to tie the score. Gallet then retired Danny Ditota on a grounder to second to end the inning by stranding two runners in scoring position.

The Eagles chased Trosch in the seventh when they scored four runs to take a 5-1 lead. With one out, Jonathan Mason was hit by a pitch and Hynes followed with a single. Jay Thompson then singled to center, scoring Mason to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead. With runners at the corners, Derrik Walling greeted Guilford relief pitcher Avery Rogers with a two-run double to put the Eagles on top 4-1. Walling later scored on a two-out single by Nick Fulk for a 5-1 BC lead.

The Quakers loaded the bases against Gallet in the ninth to bring the potential tying run to the plate. Gallet then struck out Ditota to finish off the 5-1 victory.

Hynes led the Eagles offense in Game 2 with a 3-for-3 effort at the plate. Fulk and Nuttycombe each finished 2-for-4 while Walling finished with a 2-for-3 day at the plate.

In the opener, the Eagles squandered an 8-3 lead and lost in the 10th, 10-9.

The Quakers jumped on BC starter Kevin Chandler for three runs on five hits in the top of the first, but the Eagles battled back with one in the bottom of the first and three more in the second to take a 4-3 lead.

After two first-inning Guilford errors allowed the Eagles to tie the score at 1-1, BC added three runs on two hits in the second to take the lead. Thompson doubled with one out and Walling was hit by a pitch to put two runners on. After Snow was hit by a pitch to load the sacks, all baserunners moved up on a wild pitch with Thompson scoring to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead. With two outs, Sanderson singled up the middle to chase home Snow and Walling to put the Eagles on top 4-3.

Bridgewater added four more runs in the fourth to lead 8-3. With one out, Snow walked and Fulk reached on an error. The BC duo then executed a double steal and Snow scored when the catcher’s throw to third skipped past the third baseman for an error. With two outs, Hacker scored Fulk with a double and Nuttycombe chased Hacker home with a single for a 7-3 BC lead. Hynes then singled to left and Nuttycombe scored to put the Eagles on top 8-3.

After the rough first inning, Chandler hung zeroes on the board in the second through fifth frames. The Quakers chased Chander in the sixth with two more runs. Casey Mann delivered the big hit with a two-run single, making the score 8-5.

Chandler then walked Slate and was Dillon Via was summoned from the bullpen. Ditota bunted for hit to load the bases, but Via retired John Macon Smith on a grounder to third to end the inning.

The Quakers took advantage of a BC error in the seventh to score two more runs. Kent Peterson led off with a single and Zach Montalbano reached on an infield error. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt and Ben Esser followed with a two-run single to make it a one-run ballgame, 8-7.

Mark Smith came on in the ninth to close for the Eagles but Montalbano belted a long one-out homer to right to tie the score at 9-9.

The Quakers scored the winning run in the 10th on a BC error. Slate led off the 10th with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Smith then lined out the center and Slate tagged up to advance to third. The throw eluded Hacker at third base and Slate scampered home with the go-ahead run.

Sanderson led the Eagles in the opener with a 3-for-6 effort and two RBIs. Hacker was 2-for-6 with two RBIs and Thompson finished 2-for-5.

The Eagles are now 25-11 overall and 11-5 in the ODAC. Guilford is 20-16, 8-7 in the conference.