The Bruins fall short in both games of the unique doubleheader tonight at Conestee Park.
Game 1: Toccoa Falls College
This game was an absolute pitching and defensive dual that went down to the wire. Jason Quillin started on the mound for the Bruins and had another quality start. In the seven innings that he pitched, he only gave up 4 hits and one run keeping the Screaming Eagles bats very quiet.
The Bruins got on the board first in the second inning on an RBI-triple by Zay Brandt. Mannix Crawford scored all the way from first base on the play. With the exception of a few times throughout the game where the Bruins found themselves in scoring position, the bats stayed quiet with a lot of flyouts.
The Screaming Eagles first run on the night came on an error that advanced all runners, tying it 1-1 in the fourth inning. The score remained 1-1 for nearly the rest of the game due to the great pitching and defense on both side. With it tied after seven innnings, the game went into extra innings.
After a scoreless eighth inning, Toccoa Falls got on base and was able to go all the way around the bases on a couple errors. They scored the winning run in the top of the ninth inning, and then was able to shut down the Bruins offense to close out the tight 2-1 game.
Game 2: Carolina University
The bats got going a lot earlier in this game than in game one for the Bruins. Evan Johnson started the scoring with an RBI single that scored Cody Kirkpatrick. Bryson French and Sam Gonzalez came after both reaching on an error which brought in two more runs.
Carolina answered to diminish the 3-0 deficit right away. They scored two runs in the top of the second on two big hits, one of which was a homerun. Bob Jones answered back with one of their own in the bottom of the second inning to extend their lead 4-2.
In the fourth inning, Carolina took the lead on a big RBI double. With a 5-4 lead, they then extended it to 6-4 in the fifth inning. The Bruins stayed calm, though, and got a run to get back within a run on good base running by Cayden Kennedy.
It was the last inning where Carolina blew it open. Going into the inning with a one run lead, Carolina scored 4 runs to take a commmanding lead that was just out of reach for the Bruins to catch up to. The Bruins fell 10-5.
Tillman Padgett pitched a complete game for the Bruins and got out of several jams. He struck out three while only walking two.
The Bruins are back in action tomorrow against Carolina University at 12:00 p.m. at Conestee Park. Tomorrow is Senior Day as the Bruins plan to recognize seven seniors for their hard work for the program.
