VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Bridgewater baseball swept the doubleheader against Virginia Wesleyan on the road, winning the first game, 6-4 and then securing a 9-4 win in game two Saturday. 

The Basics  

Game 1 Score: Bridgewater (BCE) 6, Va. Wesleyan (VWU) 4 

Game 2 Score: Bridgewater (BCE) 9, Va. Wesleyan (VWU) 4 

Records: BCE (12-7-1 OVR, 4-2-1 ODAC), VWU (4-10 OVR, 0-7 ODAC) 

How It Happened 

Game 1 

• The Eagles dialed in to stay ahead of the Marlins the whole way through, despite the late-inning comeback by VWU in the eighth. BCE found breathing room and broke ahead of the Marlins in the ninth to cut the scoring surge by the Marlins short. 

• In the second inning, BCE jumped out to an early lead putting up the first four runs on the board. Nick Stavros walked in Bryce Suters with bases loaded and Ashton Smith followed with another walk to score in run number two. Trent Holland then ripped a single in the infield but the ball got away from the infielders scoring in Stavros and Bransen Hensley. 

• The Eagles would stay at 4-0 for most of the game until the Marlins came through to put the first few points on the board. In the fifth inning, VWU worked an RBI single to get runners in scoring position. A sacrifice fly and a hard shot to the infield allowed two more runs to score, cutting the deficit to one at 4-3 at the end of the inning. 

• As bullpens stayed sharp for the next three innings, the Marlins found the equalizer in the eighth getting a runner across home plate after a drilled grounder.  

• Next inning, the Eagles pulled ahead and held off the Marlins from coming back again with a pair of runs off a Lucas Bauer walk to score in Eli Weese and a laced single put out into the outfield by Hensley scoring in the pinch runner Chase Ford. After Gary Tompkins came in for relief in the eighth, Tompkins got the job done in the ninth retiring all three batters in a row with two strikeouts and a popout. 

Game 2 

• With the help from the dominant start by Evan Bert, the Eagles climbed to a convincing lead right out of the gate and never looked back in game two of the doubleheader against VWU. Ashton Smith opened the scoring with a shot into the outfield for a two-run double as Isaac Sumpter and Nick Stavros came around to score. Soon after, Jake Harris clobbered a pitch to send out over the wall for the two-run long shot. At 4-0, the Marlins did not have the answer in the first stranding two men on base. 

• The Eagles continued where they left off in the first extending the lead with an additional run in the second inning. Sumpter hustled out a grounder in the infield resulting in a run scored by Lucas Bauer. Once again, Bert got the Eagles out of trouble and escaped the second and third innings. 

• In the fourth inning, BCE kept its foot on the gas tacking on three more runs in the frame.  Stavros hustled out another passed ball reaching second base while Bauer made it home safely to make it 6-0. J. Harris walked with bases loaded to score in Stavros. Zack Chadwell was then hit by a pitch which scored Smith. Next inning, Stavros opened the lead even further pummeling a double down the right field line to knock in Bauer for his third scored run of the game. 

• With the enormous lead at 9-0, VWU managed to get a piece of offense working to avoid the shutout which began in the sixth inning with an RBI single. Then, in the eighth a pair of runs scored with a single up the middle. The scoring was soon cut short in the ninth leaving nothing to chance despite the additional run with bases loaded. Tyler Dyson helped Tyler Jones out of a jam stranding three men on base to close out the second game, 9-4. 

Game Notes 

Game 1 

• Gary Tompkins earned the win making that a 2-0 record on the season along with three strikeouts against five batters faced in 1.2 innings. 

• Trent Holland had a big day for the Eagles, leading the way with two RBIs.  

• Cam Nuckols found himself a solid start despite a struggled fifth inning posting a stat line of five innings pitched on three hits, two runs, three walks, and six strikeouts. 

Game 2 

• Jake Harris was aggressive at the plate offensively with a two-run homer (first of the season) along with a third RBI in the fourth and two walks.  

• Starting pitching shined in both games allowing to go deeper into later innings. Evan Bert carried a strong stat line for his second win of the season, going six innings pitched on just one run and two hits while delivering a season-high seven strikeouts. 

• Also on the offensive end, Nick Stavros posted a team-high three hits while scoring twice and tallying an RBI. 

Up Next 

The Eagles are back in action on Tuesday, March 25 at home against Shenandoah.