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Historic Day for MBU Baseball Ends with Extra-Inning Victory

Historic Day for MBU Baseball Ends with Extra-Inning Victory

HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Mary Baldwin University baseball team opened its inaugural season against the Eastern Mennonite Developmental team on Sunday.

The Fighting Squirrels competed in a pair of seven-inning games splitting the twinbill and claiming the first win in program history.

MBU's schedule this season is that of a club level and consists of developmental teams from the area and club squads as MBU competes in the National Club Baseball Association before rising to the varsity level next season. The Fighting Squirrels start the year with a 1-1 record.

"I'm really proud of the way the guys played today," said head coach Scott Hearn, who was named the inaugural head coach for the program in December 2018. "We still have some things we need to clean up to be better in the future, but the guys played hard and competed all day. When situations were tough, they responded and I can't express enough how excited I am for them to get their first win."

In game two of the day, MBU started off the first inning by drawing four-straight walks to take a 1-0 lead on an RBI by Tavion Hall. EMU's developmental team responded by plating three runs in the home half of the frame to go ahead 3-1.

Cameron Geanas singled to start the second inning followed by a Jacob Cude single to put two runners on with no outs. Each runner advanced on a wild pitch to set up two runners in scoring position for Matthew Plotner who drew a walk to load the bases. Noah Kessler grounded to second on a fielder's choice to score Geanas from third to cut the lead to 3-2.

Neither side crossed the plate as it remained a one-run contest until the top of the sixth inning. Jakob King grounded to short before finding himself at second base after an errant throw with one out in the inning. Colby Cheatham came to the plate with two down and King still on second and laced a double over the centerfielder's head to tie the game, 3-3.

EMU was held off the board in the home half of the frame, which brought the Fighting Squirrels to the plate in the top of the seventh of a seven-inning contest. Tucker Hensley reached first after beating out a throw on a slow roller to the right side of the infield to lead off the inning before stealing second base. Hall found himself down in the count 0-2 before fouling off several pitches and evening the count at 2-2. Hall then line a double to left field to score Hensley from third and give MBU a 4-3 lead.

The first two batters went down quickly in the bottom of the seventh inning as the home team was down to its final out. A opposite-field home run tied the game as both sides headed to extra innings.

Batting with one out in the eighth frame, Cheatham reached on an error by the shortstop and moved to second after Matthew Delp drew a walk. Kyle Measell singled to left to score a run and moved to second on the throw to the plate to put MBU up 5-4 and put two runners in scoring position. A wild pitch scored another run before Hall doubled on a blooper down the right-field line, 7-4. Dylan Rankin followed by lining a double down the left-field line to score Hall and set the score at 8-4. The inning ended with one out due to observance of a pitch count for the EMU developmental team. The home side went down in order in the bottom of the eighth as the Fighting Squirrels claimed their first-ever victory.

Hall went 2 for 4 with three RBI and Rankin went 2 for 5 with a run batted in. Cheatham scored twice and drove in a run as well.

Cheatham picked up the win after pitching the final 2.0 innings and allowing just one run on one hit. Hensley got the start on the hill and threw 5.0 innings giving up three runs on four hits and striking out six batters and did not walk a batter.

In game one, the EMU developmental squad scored three runs in the first three innings before adding another in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 4-0 lead. The Fighting Squirrels took the plate in the top of the sixth frame as Hensley led off with a single to left. Delp followed with a single of his own to put two on with no outs. Hall singled on a fly ball to centerfield that forced the runners to hold before falling over the center fielder's head to load the bases. Rankin was hit by a pitch to record the first RBI in team history and set the score at 4-1. Quincy Wilkins struck a pinch-hit double to center to clear the bases and tie the contest. EMU appealed at third base, which ruled a runner out for missing a bag to reset the score and keep EMU in the lead, 4-3. The home side held on for the 4-3 decision and take game one of the twinbill.

Hensley went 3 for 4 at the plate, including the team's first base hit in program history, and scored once.

On the hill, Kyle Measell got the start and went 4.0 innings yielding three runs on eight hits. Teddy Coates tossed the remaining 2.0 innings in relief and scattered two hits and allowed one run.

The Fighting Squirrels return to the diamond on Wednesday, Feb. 19, as they travel to Paul D. Camp Community College for a single game beginning at 2 pm.

 

 

 

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