BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Bridgewater College scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to grab a 6-3 lead in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader and the Eagles held on for 7-5 victory over Randolph-Macon. The victory salvaged a split with the nation's ninth-ranked team as the Yellow Jackets won the opener 16-7.

Bridgewater took the lead in the second game with a run in the bottom of the third. Parker Mead led off the inning with a single and Brandon Poole reached on a throwing error. After Matthew LaPrade walked to load the sacks with no outs, Chris King was hit by a pitch, forcing home Mead with the game's first run. Randolph-Macon starter Colin Selby worked out of the bases-loaded, no out jam by retiring the next three hitters to keep the score a 1-0.

Bridgewater starter Samuel Imeson blanked the visitors for the first four innings, but ran into trouble in the fifth. Zach Evans led off with a single to left and Ryan Duphorn walked. Jeff Butler tied the score with a single, scoring Evans to make it 1-1. With runners on the corners, Kyle Jones came out of the bullpen for the Eagles. Butler stole second and, with two runners in scoring position, Rick Spiers plated a run with a sacrifice fly to give the Yellow Jackets a 2-1 lead. Another sac fly, this one by Cole Migliorini, put the visitors ahead 3-1.

Bridgewater responded with a five-run outburst in the bottom half of the fifth. With one out, King doubled and moved to third on a single by Kenner Berry. An opposite field single by Jake Bailey scored King and chased Berry to third, pulling the Eagles to within 3-2. Berry then raced home on a wild pitch to tie the score at 3-3. After JT Creed struck out, Cameron Stanley delivered a run-scoring single to put the Eagles back on top, 4-3. Jacob Talley then ended Selby's day with a double into the right-field corner to push the margin to 5-3.  Mead greeted relief pitcher Nic Phelps with a single to left, scoring Talley, to put the Eagles up 6-3.

The Eagles took advantage of an error in the sixth when Berry drove home a run with a double down the left-field line to make the score 7-3.

Migliorini belted a two-run homer in the ninth, but it wasn't enough as the Eagles held on for the 7-5 victory.

Bridgewater received strong work from its bullpen as three middle relievers combined for four shutout innings. Kyle Jones worked a scoreless fifth inning and picked up the win. Jacob Benfield allowed one hit in two shutout innings and Andrew Berry worked a scoreless eighth.

The Eagles finished the second game with 10 hits as Berry, Stanley and Mead contributed two hits each.

The loss was the first in conference play this season for the Yellow Jackets. Randolph-Macon is now 15-6 overall and 6-1 in the ODAC.

In the opener, Randolph-Macon lead 8-0 after five innings and coasted to the 16-7 win.

Two more Yellow Jackets' runs in the top of the sixth, made the score 10-0 before the Eagles got on the scoreboard with a single run in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Berry singled and Bailey walked. Berry scored on a Brett Jones' double for the Eagles' first run.

Bridgewater moved closer with three more runs in the bottom of the seventh. Mead led off the inning with an infield single and took second on a throwing error on the play. Mead moved to third on Brandon Poole's grounder and scored on a groundout by LaPrade. Phillip Herber then reached on a single to right and scored on Berry's double to the gap in left-center, making the score 10-3. Bailey added a single to center, scoring Berry, to pull the Eagles to within 10-4.

Randolph-Macon answered with four runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth to lead 16-4.

The Eagles closed the contest with three runs in the bottom of the ninth. With one out, Berry and Warren Atkins reached with consecutive singles. Berry was out at third on a grounder by Brett Jones before a single by Creed loaded the bases. Talley walked to force in a run and Mead plated two runs with a single to center for the final 16-7 score.

Surprisingly, the Eagles out-hit the Yellow Jackets 17-16 in the opener. Berry led the way with a 4-for-5 effort. Creed had three hits while Poole, Bailey and Mead each added a pair of hits.

Bridgewater is now 9-12 overall and 3-4 in the conference. The Eagles are back in action Sunday afternoon when they host Stevenson for a non-conference game. First pitch is slated for 2:00 p.m.