It was a rainy afternoon as the Bob Jones University Bruins and Columbia International University Rams took to Miller Field in Columbia, South Carolina where the Bruins battled but fell in a 1-0 decision.
"It was a great job from our pitching staff tonight with Josh Legnard and Jason Quillin holding CIU to five hits and one run," said Head Coach Brent Casteel. "We stepped it up on offense and defense but couldn't get anybody across the plate. We made great steps in the right direction. I'm really proud of the way they played tonight!"
Tuesday's afternoon game marked the second meeting between the Bruins and the Rams this season. The two programs last met at Conestee Park on February 20 where the Rams took the game 16-10.
Riley Ramsey opened the game with a single into left field. Up next in the lineup was Evan Walker who landed on first base after a fielder's choice at second sent Ramsey back to the dugout. It was a promising start as Sam Gonzalez and J.C. Poe stepped up to the plate. Unfortunately, both flied out to end the top of the first inning leaving the Bruins scoreless at the start.
Joshua Legnard took to the mound for the Bruins and got off to a hot start with two strikeouts in the bottom of the first.
Pablo Austin stepped up in the top of the second inning and singled to take a base in his first at bat. Cody Kirkpatrick looked to get on base but a double play from CIU's short stop to second base to first base took out both Austin and Kirkpatrick. Matthew Wells looked to make something happen, but as he hit is ball, it was caught by the right fielder to retire the inning.
In the bottom of the second inning, the Rams got on the board after Colton Lopez crossed home on a sac fly.
BJU looked to strike in the top of the third. After a throwing error by the short stop, Chad Bayne narrowly escaped the first out of the inning and landed on first base. Walker then singled to left field allowing Bayne to advance to third while he sat at first. The Bruins had runners on each base after Sam Gonzalez walked. With two outs on the board, the Bruins turned to J.C. Poe to score some runs. But Poe struck out swinging to leave three runners stranded and still behind 1-0 on the scoreboard.
Jason Quillin stepped in for Legnard in the bottom of the sixth. Quillin pitched well keeping the Rams off the board through the final innings.
While the Bruins continued to battle on offense, they were unable to send runners home and left Columbia shutout by CIU 1-0. The contest finished with the Rams recording one run on five hits and one error while the Bruins saw seven hits and zero errors. Third baseman Pablo Austin led the Bruins with three hits during four at bats.
With today's loss, the Bruins sit at 1-10 on the season and 1-7 all time against the Rams.
Up next, the Bruins travel to Winston-Salem, North Carolina for a three game weekend series at Carolina University.
