Bluefield Sweep - Magic Number, Two!

Waleska, GA - The Eagles moved two spots closer to closing out the regular season as the best team in the AAC by sweeping the doubleheader day and the series on Saturday afternoon.  Game one took extra innings, but the team prevailed winning 11-10 in the 12th inning.  Game two of the day was no contest as the Eagles came out strong and put this game away in the 2nd inning winning with the final score of 25-4.

GAME ONE

In game one, Tucker Zdunich and Jarrett Burney made sure the Eagles were going to stay at the top of the standings at the end of the day. Zdunich was 4 for 6 with an 8th-inning bomb over the right field wall that scored Burney. Burney was 4 for 5 in the game with 2 RBIs and 4 runs scored. Zdunich had 3 RBIs and 3 runs scored for the Eagles. If Zdunich gets hot at the end of the season, it could be lights out for any opponents that the Eagles face. The heart of the Eagles batting lineup is very strong with the likes of Nash Crowell, Dylan Lewis, Burney, and Adrian Vargas. Add in Zdunch with a hot bat and this team can beat anyone they face in the NAIA.

The Eagles had a big fourth inning where they scored five runs off the bats of Burney, Lewis, and Vargas. They consistently scored runs throughout the extra-inning game, but it was the fourth inning that made the difference in the ball game.

The game ended in the bottom of the 12th inning on a double by Crowell that scored Vargas.

Pitching was an issue in this game with the Rams and very well could have not gone in the favor of the Eagles. Alex Galvez got the start for the Eagles, but he was not able to get past the second inning. He struck out 2 batters in his two innings, but he gave up 3 runs forcing the coaching staff to make an early move on the mound.

Coby Allison, Adam Christopher, and Brett Allen pitched the rest of the way for the Eagles. Allison pitched 4 innings striking out 1 batter, but he gave up3 runs in the game. Allen had another strong outing despite giving up a home run the Rams in the seventh inning. Allen picked up the win in the game after finishing out strong for the Eagles in his 4 innings.

Reinhardt (GA)Pitchers

Game Two

In game two, the floodgates opened up and the bats of Reinhardt pushed right through. Several Eagles had outstanding games with multiple hits, runs, and RBIs. Jarrett Burney again was the man in the game going 4 for 5 in this one with a solid 5 RBI output. He also scored 3 runs to tie him with Tucker Zdunich for that lead.  Burney had a grand slam that gave him four of his RBIs in the fourth inning. Burney had an incredible doubleheader going 8 for 10 on the day with the home run and two doubles.

Zdunich got his second home run for the day in game two going 1 for 3 and he scored 3 runs. Joining Burney and Zdunich with home runs were Dylan Lewis and Nash Crowell.  Crowell is the current leader with 18 home runs this season and Lewis is just behind him with 17.  Zdunich is sitting at 12 currently with four games left in the regular season.

The bottom part of the lineup produced for the Eagles in game two and was much of the reason the game opened up the way it did.  Senior Jamel Rookard had one of his best games at the plate on Saturday hitting 3 for 3 with 3 RBIs and 3 runs scored. Second basemen Jacob Profit ended up 3 for 4 with an RBI and 3 runs scored. Profit is in his last season as an Eagle and he will leave Ken White Field as the All-Time Stolen Base Leader for Reinhardt Baseball. He is currently at 82 stolen bases and has the remainder of the regular season away games, the AAC Tournament, and the NAIA Nationals to add to this total. It will be a mark that will be hard for others to reach.

Marcerio Allen got time at shortstop in game two and continued to show that he would produce when the time was given. He hit 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs and 3 runs scored. His highlight play was a triple in the bottom of the fifth.

Ben Medley got the start in game two and he had a good outing pitching 5 innings and only allowing one run. The offense did their jobs early and continued throughout the game making it a comfortable setting for the pitchers to move through the Rams lineup.  The offense on top of the job Medley did through the five innings took the wind out of the sail of Bluefield and the game was over by the second inning. Medley ended the game with 4 strikeouts and only 3 hits in his five innings.

Hal Stelljes and Hunter Paulsen came in for an inning each with both recording two strikeouts. They did give up a few runs, but the game had been decided at this point and no hard was done.

Reinhardt (GA)Pitchers

 The Eagles finish their 2023-24 regular spring season campaign at Ken White Field with a huge sweep of Bluefield which secures their spot at the current #1 team in the AAC.  They will travel to Cumberland, TN with a single game with the Phoenix before getting ready for their final AAC matchup of the season. The final series of this regular season is with CIU with a single on Thursday and a doubleheader on Friday (as of now).  The Eagles need to win two of those games to be crowned the top team of the AAC for the 2024 regular season and it punches their ticket to the NAIA Nationals. 

The AAC Tournament will begin the following week in Kingsport, TN where the Eagles would like to come out as the champion as well.  After this, we will wait to see where the Eagles end up next - which could be as host of the first round regionals.  More info to come!