The Bruins split the doubleheader in Augusta, Georgia against the Paine College Lions winning game one 4-2 and losing 6-7 in a marathon game two that went to 11 innings.
"Good teams know how to win ugly, and we did that in game one, except for Tillman Padgett who threw great," Head Coach Kyle Morrison said. "Tillman pitched great for us in game one even though we left runners on base. In game two, we didn't take advantage of runners on base, and we committed vital errors in the field which led to a loss that should have been a win."
Tillman Padgett started game one on the mound for the Bruins and threw a gem. Besides the two runs (one earned) allowed in the third inning, Padgett was nearly flawless in the win. The offense did just enough to give Padgett enough runs to go the distance for a complete game win. The scoring started in the first inning when Henry Rumble hit a double that scored Mannix Crawford to take a 1-0 lead. The Bruins added a run in each the second and the third innings to extend their lead to 3-0. Preston Cox was responsible for the run in the second after hitting a triple and scoring on a passed ball. Then in the third, Crawford was walked before stealing second and third. Jacob Highsmith tallied an RBI with a sac-fly scoring Crawford. An insurance run was scored in the fifth inning to give Padgett a cushion. Evan Johnson hit an RBI-double to score Crawford again. Padgett closed out the final two innings to win the game 4-2.
Evan Johnson led the Bruins with two hits and an RBI. Rumble and Highsmith both got an RBI, and Mannix Crawford scored three of the four runs in the game. Defensively, Cody Kirkpatrick caught two runners stealing from behind the dish.
For the majority of game two, it looked like it was going to be just like game one. The Lions bats, however, showed up in the right time to tie the game late and force extra innings. The scoring for the Bruins began nearly the same way as in game one. Henry Rumble hit a sac-fly to score Mannix Crawford to take a 1-0 lead. The Bruins added two more runs in the fourth inning after Jaden Blanco hit an RBI-single to score Sam Gearhart followed by an RBI-single by Mannix Crawford to score Angelo Gomez. The Bruins took a 4-0 lead when Rumble scored on a fielder's choice.
Mack Ritter was the starter for the Bruins and threw very well before running into a little bit of trouble in the bottom of the fifth inning. He allowed two runs to make the score 4-2. He finished his day with four and 1/3 innings with three strikeouts. Gabe Swarms and Noah Ezell both pitched in relief, but could not close out the win. The Lions scored two in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie it 4-4 and force extra innings. The eighth, ninth, and tenth innings all went scoreless much due to the pitching dual between the Lions pitcher and Ryan Pierce. Pierce did his job and threw great and finished with zero earned runs in three and 2/3s innings.
The Bruins jumped ahead in the top of the 11th inning to break the tie on an RBI-single by Zac Tyre that scored Rumble. To follow, Travis Blackwell ran for Tyre and showed off his wheels with great heads-up base running to score on a throw to first. The Bruins led 6-4 with only three outs to go. Pierce did his job but several defensive errors gave the Lions free runners and free runs. Unfortunately for the Bruins, they couldn't close out the late win and fall on a walk-off. The final score was 7-6.
Evan Johnson, Mannix Crawford, and Henry Rumble all made some great defensive plays along the way. Sam Gearhart swung a great bat with four hits and an RBI. Jaden Blanco and Henry Rumble both had three hits and an RBI each.
The Bruins have one more doubleheader in the regular season next week when Alice Lloyd College comes to Greenville on Wednesday, April 29 beginning at 2:00 p.m.
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