BEREA, Ky. – The Berea College baseball team opened conference play against the No. 8 LaGrange College Panthers in a doubleheader. The Mountaineers fell short in both games, dropping the first game 6-2 and the second game was 10-9.
With the two losses, the Mountaineers fall to 3-15 overall and 0-2 in CCS contests.
Game 1 – Berea 2, LaGrange 6
The Mountaineers had a slow start, with LaGrange taking the lead with two runs earned during the first two innings. During the third inning, sophomore
Kenneth Henderson marked the first run for the Mountaineers through sophomore
Fredison Rivera's RBI double to give Berea a 2-1 lead.
Eventually, the Panthers tied the contest with another run in the fourth inning. The Mountaineers regained the lead in the fifth inning, as sophomore Michael Vasquez hit an RBI double to score freshman
Giovanni Ortiz as Berea led 3-2 after five innings.
Despite having opportunities to score, the Mountaineers struggled as LaGrange scored three more runs throughout the last three innings and eventually came away with a 6-2 conference opening win over Berea.
Game 2 – Berea 9, LaGrange 10
As the second game started, both teams struggled to earn runs during the first three innings. With LaGrange scoring a run in the fourth inning, sophomores
Ricardo Serra and
Jayden Junta reached home plate to mark the first two runs for the Mountaineers, putting them in the lead. The score was 2-1 in favor of the Mountaineers.
Berea took advantage of their lead and scored three more runs in the fifth and sixth innings. For the fifth inning, sophomores
Marcelo Manrique and Michael Vasquez scored through
Jayden Junta's triple. Next,
Jayden Junta scored through
Fredison Rivera's single RBI. Then, in the sixth inning,
Marcelo Manrique's RBI – double allowed Michael Vasquez and
Fredison Rivera to reach home plate and mark two runs. Then, with
Ricardo Serra's RBI – double,
Marcelo Manrique scored another run.
Unfortunately, LaGrange earned seven runs during the 6
th inning, rechallenging the Mountaineers. The score was 8-8, and both teams fought hard to break the tie.
As the ninth inning approached, both teams scored a run respectively. Sophomore
Justin Brown had an RBI – single, which allowed sophomore
Alejandro Avila to score. The score was 9-9, and the game continued to the tenth inning.
The tenth inning resulted in LaGrange's favor as they scored another run, breaking the tie. The game ended 10-9, with a loss for Berea.
The Mountaineers will continue taking on LaGrange tomorrow afternoon to finalize the series. The game will be at the Berea College Sports Complex with first pitch set for 1 pm.