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H-SC BASEBALL TAKES PAIR FROM DEFENDING CHAMPS Solid starting pitching from West, Daniel spur Tigers in Sunday sweep of R-MC
Game 1 Box Score The Tigers (7-4, 2-1 ODAC) rode Game 1 starter West for six strong innings, then exploded for four runs in the bottom of the sixth to break open a 3-3 ball game and steal a 7-3 victory. With the bases loaded and one out in the frame, Hampden-Sydney's Zach Harrelson (Danville, VA/George Washington) successfully executed a squeeze play that scored leadoff man Chris Martin (Chesterfield, VA/Manchester) for a 4-3 lead. Matt Brown (Chester, VA/L.C. Bird) followed with a two-run single, and senior Luke Swiney (Richmond, VA/Mills Godwin) drew a bases loaded walk to drive in the final Hampden-Sydney run of the inning. Reliever Matt Daniel (Richmond, VA/Trinity Episcopal) surrendered two hits to Randolph-Macon (4-7, 0-2 ODAC) in the seventh, but forced a foul out and fielder's choice to close out the Yellow Jackets in Game 1. In six complete innings, West fanned seven and scattered seven hits, allowing just two earned runs. Brown finished 2-for-4 in Game 1 with three RBI. Harrelson drove in two runs and senior Evan Rogers (Chester, VA/L.C. Bird) turned in a 3-for-4, one RBI day at the dish. In Game 2, Ryan Daniel set the tone in a 6-5 Hampden-Sydney triumph by bouncing back after giving up an early tally to the Yellow Jackets. Randolph-Macon's Jordan Walton kicked off the scoring with an opposite field home run in the top of the second to give the Yellow Jackets a 1-0 lead. But the Tigers responded with a three spot in the fourth courtesy of RBI singles from Brown, Erik Herrmann (Glen Allen, VA/Deep Run) and Nick Price (Sterling, VA/Potomac Falls) to snare a 3-1 edge. Holding onto a narrow 3-2 lead in the eighth, Hampden-Sydney found some insurance. Rogers laid down another successful squeeze that scored A.J. Prill (Midlothian, VA/James River) and Ben Brawley (Leesburg, VA/Loudoun County) came through with a two-out, RBI single to push the Hampden-Sydney lead to 5-2. Herrmann capped the Tigers' scoring with an RBI triple, staking Hampden-Sydney to a 6-2 lead going into the ninth. Randolph-Macon's Greg Mitro breathed life back into the Yellow Jackets' dugout with a three-run blast off of Matt Daniel, but Mike Blanchard (Roanoke, VA/Roanoke Catholic) earned the cold-blooded save by notching a strike out and forcing a fly out to secure the series sweep over the ODAC's preseason number one. Ryan Daniel took the win by throwing 7.1 innings of four-hit, two-earned run and five strikeout baseball. Herrmann paced the Tigers' attack with two RBI on 3-for-4 from the plate. Hampden-Sydney will embark on a three-game road trip during the spring break holiday. That road trip begins on Tuesday, March 10 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina where the Tigers will square off with North Carolina Wesleyan at 3:30 pm. www.hsc.edu/athletics- |