Barons baseball team defeats USCB Sand Sharks on Baron Field

Baron Blake Sanders (3), a 5’10” junior from Ponte Vedra, Fla., is at bat in the first inning. (Photo by E'Quain Rhodes)

The Brewton-Parker College baseball team exploded for eight runs in the first inning Feb. 11, and got a tremendous pitching performance from Phil Merrill out of the bullpen to secure a 10-6 victory over visiting University of South Carolina-Beaufort Sand Sharks.

Blake Sanders led the game off with a solo shot to left that quickly put the Barons on the board.  Five batters later with two outs, and the bases loaded, Evan Pedrick singled up the middle to score Derrick Fox.  The Sand Sharks starter John Franklin then walked in two runs before giving up a bases clearing double to leadoff hitter Blake Sanders.  Derrick Fox capped off the eight run inning with a single to right that scored Sanders.

USC-B was not going down without a fight, however, and the Sand Sharks began to make a game of it in the third.  Down 9-1, the USC-B bats, aided by two Brewton-Parker errors, scored four runs, and chased Baron starting pitcher Blaine Skaggs from the game.  Merrill took over in the third, and gave up one run in the fourth, but was able to hold the Sand Sharks scoreless the rest of the way, earning his first victory of the season in seven innings of work.

The Barons traveled to Voorhees College over the weekend. After a 6-8 loss in the Friday night game, they claimed two victories in the double header on Saturday, Feb. 14: a 16-0 sweep in the first game and a 9-7 final in the second.

The Barons, now 8-3 on the season, will play their next home game Wednesday, Feb. 25 against Edward Waters College. You can follow the Barons live via the internet by clicking on the link on www.bpc.edu/athletics/baseball.

Brewton-Parker College is the only accredited four-year Christian college in south Georgia.

-BPC-