Eagles Fight Their Way Through a Tough Royals Squad for the Series Sweep

photo by Angelina Ruiz

Waleska, GA - Reinhardt Baseball was coming off a single game Friday that ended with a Nash Crowell Grand Slam to win the game after trailing in the game. On Saturday's doubleheader, game two of the series would go about the same where the Eagles had to come back to win and the bats showed up for the 8-4 win.  The seven-inning game three of the series was a little more smooth with ace pitcher, Andrew Herbert, on the mound. Reinhardt controlled the game and won with an 8-0 shutout, but it was not as easy as the final score indicates.

Game One of Doubleheader

Alex Galvez got the start for the Eagles and he is having a great year pitching for the Eagles. He has been consistent and reliable all season long. His record is currently 4-1 as a starter with a 2.48 era, however, his pitching was a little off for this game. He was able to go just three and two-thirds innings before being relieved by Cobey Allison in the fourth.  Galvez finished with 2 strikeouts and gave up 2 runs for the Eagles.

Allison was able to keep the game within striking distance despite giving up another 2 runs to the Royals. He struck out 5 batters and gave up 5 hits before being pulled for Brett Allen.  Allen has been outstanding for the Eagles stepping up in whatever role Coach Jonathan Burton needs him to play. Allen has been able to get the team out of bad situations and get the team back on track. He did this again on Saturday afternoon and allowed the bats to get going in the late innings. In his two innings, he struck out two batters and only allowed one hit while keeping Johnson off the board for any more runs.

Reinhardt (GA)Pitchers

The Eagles were able to finally score runs in the late innings very similar to game one on Friday.  Reinhardt scored 5 runs in the bottom of the eighth to take the lead with a little room to breathe. Dylan Lewis and Nash Crowell stepped up once again for home runs to take back the lead. Lewis had a solo homer to lead off the eighth and Crowell had a two-run homer that brought in Tucker Zdunich.

This gave the Eagles a 6-4 advantage, but they were able to add two more runs from an RBI at bat from Jarrett Burney which scored Parker Doyle. Next, Jacob Profit laid down a perfect bunt toward first and his wheels took him the rest of the way. Profit scored Sam Kilgore (running for Matty Maurer) who was on third base.

It was another comeback win for the Eagles that got them the series win, but they wanted to sweep the series from the Royals.

Game Two of the Doubleheader

The second game of the day put the ball in the hands of All-American and AAC Pitcher of the Week, Andrew Herbert, who has been nothing but outstanding for the Eagles after returning at the end of February from an injury last spring. Herbert was able to pitch six of the seven-inning game controlling it from start until he walked off the mound. He did give up 9 hits in the game, however, the hits did not put the game in jeopardy at any point. He recorded 5 strikeouts and held the Royals scoreless. He extended his win/loss record to 5-0 with a 1.14 era. These numbers put him in the ranks of the top pitchers in the nation this season He leads the team in strikeouts with 38 and is third in innings pitched at 39.1 - and all this has been done missing about the first month of the season.

Blake Rogers came in to pitch the seventh inning for Herbert. Rogers has been out for the past three weeks due to a shoulder injury. After seeing the first two Royals get on base in the top of the ninth, Rogers was pulled giving room for Ryan Mahoney.  Mahoney came in and cleaned everything up fast. He was able to get the first batter to fly out to left field and then he struck out the final two batters showing he is moving up the ladder of the RU pitching staff.

Reinhardt (GA)Pitchers

Offensively, the Eagles scored runs in every inning except the sixth inning with multiple runs in the third and fifth. The third inning was their largest run producer with 3 runs and then they added 2 more in the fifth. Tucker Zdunich had a triple in the third which scored Jarrett Burney and Marcerio Allen.  Zdunich was hit in by a Nash Crowell sac-fly scoring the three runs.

In the fifth inning, Crowell and Adrian Vargas both had solo homers to put the game away for the Eagles.

Burney was 4 for 4 in the game with an RBI and 2 runs scored. Vargas was 2 for 3 with an RBI and 2 runs scored.

The bats have been very hot for the Eagles as the regular season heads to its final few weeks.  Crowell and Lewis keep battling each other for the top hitter on the team with both producing great numbers. They will need to stay hot and keep producing runs to make some noise in the AAC Tournament and NAIA Nationals.

Reinhardt will be in action on Monday afternoon with a single game with Montreat starting at 4 pm.  After this, they will be on the road this weekend for an AAC series with Bryan College. For a complete look at the remaining games for the Eagles, please visit https://reinhardteagles.com/sports/bsb/2023-24/schedule