Eagles Take One From Top-Ranked Bulldogs, Aim For Series Win Wednesday

Eagles Take One From Top-Ranked Bulldogs, Aim For Series Win Wednesday
Box Score Box Score

Team Stats

March 3, 2020

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

EMERSON, Ga. – Reinhardt baseball continues to make strides on the diamond and seems close to breaking out in a big way – and it may have started on Tuesday afternoon at LakePoint Sporting Community – where the Eagles came away with a split over No. 1 Tennessee Wesleyan with a 7-4 win and a 7-4 defeat.

The three games this week don't count towards the standings within the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC), but the 1-1 afternoon moves the hometown team to 12-6 on the season.

"Tale of two games for our team today," head coach Jonathan Burton said. "We were very opportunistic in many different ways during game one, but in game two, we were held at bay until the seventh. We have to be more involved offensively early in short games, but we also need to do a better job on the mound to help balance out the game plan. We still have a chance to win a series tomorrow against a quality opponent, which is always the goal."

The visiting Bulldogs netted runs in the first three innings of play, and it began with a pair of scores with two outs in the top of the opening stanza thanks to a booming double and a single down the line. The hole to begin the game turned to a 3-0 deficit following another RBI-double by Tennessee Wesleyan in the top of the second.

The Eagles would wake up in the bottom of the second frame in big way, as Chris Basilio hit a 2-run homer to center and Ben Heideman brought home a pair of teammates on a single a few moments later for a 4-3 advantage.

Another Tennessee Wesleyan RBI-knock in the third frame locked the scoreboard back up at 4-4, but the tie lasted only minutes before Gianmarco Marcelletti (2-for-3) shot one to shallow left-center for another run.

Insurance runs for Reinhardt came in the form of Malique Foreman's 2-run triple to the gap in the bottom of the fifth. From there, however, the Bulldogs would threaten to score more each of the last two innings, but were unsuccessful after Jason Ferreras got the save following Parker Miller's work in relief.

Five runs in the third on five hits blew the second outing wide open in favor of top-ranked Tennessee Wesleyan. A 2-run smash by the Bulldogs in the top of the sixth pushed their advantage to 7-0, but the Eagles had one last gasp left in them.

The hometown team got a pinch-hit RBI from Michael Convery, and then in the seventh inning, got within three scores at 7-4 after two run-scoring singles and a sacrifice fly. Convery would then be thrust in the spotlight again, but would strike out as the tying run.

Basilio was the lone player with multiple hits with a 2-for-3 evening. 

The two AAC foes are scheduled to go at it once again tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m.

For up-to-the-minute Eagles sports news, follow Reinhardt Athletics on Facebook, @RU_Eagles on Twitter and @ru_eagles on Instagram. 

For more information on Reinhardt Baseball, please click here.