Berea, KY - The Mountaineers had a tough weekend as they took 3 unfortunate losses to the Brevard College Tornados. The Mountaineers got off to a hot start on Friday opening the weekend with a 3 hit 3 run first inning. Sadly the Mountaineers were held scoreless through the remaining 8 innings on Friday and were held to only 3 hits through the remainder of the game. Nick Bottom had a good game at the plate going 3 for 4 with one rbi. The other 3 hits came from Nathan Summey, Ryan Blevins, and Devin Bellville who each recorded a hit. Griffen Norris started on the mound for the Mountaineers having a solid outing where he threw 7 innings, giving up just 3 earned runs on 7 hits in 5 and 2/3 innings thrown. TC Eads threw the remaining 3 and 1/3 innings where he gave up 1 earned run on 6 hits. Berea fell to the tornados 5-3 after a 2 run 3rd inning was all they needed to seal the deal.
The Second game of the series seemed all too much like the first as the Mountaineers got off to a quick start scoring 2 runs in the first inning but were held scoreless for the remainder of the game. The Tornados tied the game in the 2nd inning before taking a 3 run lead in the 3rd. Nathaniel Summey, Caleb Gupton, Josh Wilson, Andrew Akins, and Tanner Crowe all recorded a hit each for Berea. Senior Michael Smithers got the start for the Mountaineers where he threw 7 and 1/3 innings giving up 4 earned runs on 6 hits. Aaron Duncan threw the remainder of the game giving up 0 earned runs on 0 hits in 1 and 2/3 inning pitched.
The final game of the series for went fairly well as they combined for 9 hits but didn't manage to translate that into run production as they scored only 2 runs. The offense was lead by seniors as Ryan Blevins went 3 for 4 in the game and had a stellar weekend defensively in all three of the games. Nathaniel Summey went 2 for 4 in the matchup, and Devin Belleville who went 2 for 4 with a double and a line drive homerun in the 3rd inning. Seth Wallingford also recorded a hit as he went 1 for 3 with 1 run scored and 1 rbi. A Host of 4 Mountaineers pitched in the 3rd game allowing a combined 9 earned runs on 14 hits.
Overall it was a rough weekend for Berea as they were swept but there were some highlights for them as swell. Many of the seniors seemed to get going at some point in the weekend as some of them had struggled to this point in the season. The Mountaineers host Hanover College this week on Wednesday, March 21st before hosting a 3 game home series this weekend against LaGrange College who has a 4-5 record in conference play.