Game One Box Score

Game Two Box Score

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Despite receiving a pair of stellar pitching performances, the Bearcat baseball team was swept in doubleheader by The Apprentice School in Newport News, VA.  In the opener, SVC fell 4-2, before the Apprentice School won the nightcap by a 3-2 count on a walk-off triple in the bottom of the seventh.

In the day's first game, the Builders got on the board first, plating one run in the bottom of the second.  Corey Gallaway doubled to center to lead off the frame, scoring two batters later on an RBI single from Josh Wilson. 

In the fourth, Apprentice took a 2-0 lead, but things could have been much worse.  Chris Aldridge led off with a double, before the Builders loaded the bases with a hit batsmen and a base-hit bunt with none out.  The Bearcats' Erik Fichter followed by striking out Ryan Wagner, and then induced a ground ball to third by Chris Kennedy.  SVC third baseman Zach Bush tagged third for the second out of the inning, but Kennedy beat out the double-play throw to first base, scoring Aldridge.  Josh Tuck then followed by popping up to end the inning, and the Bearcats minimized the damage.

Saint Vincent finally got on the board in the fifth, using small-ball to manufacture a run.  Brad Burkardt started things with a single to center, and with one out, Bush reached on an error by the first baseman to advance Burkardt 90 feet to second.  Joey Fearer followed with a bunt to the pitcher, who looked to get the lead runner at third base, but the throw pulled the third baseman off the bag to load the bases.  Joe Aul then walked to force in Burkardt, making the score 2-1. 

Saint Vincent then looked to tie the game, but Bush was retired on a failed suicide squeeze attempt, before Gallaway, on the mound in relief, got a pop up to end the inning.

The Bearcats managed to tie the game in the sixth, as Zack Galasso led off the inning with a triple off the fence in right center, and was followed by an RBI single from Jack Shaffer.

The tie wouldn't last, however, as the Builders answered with two runs on three hits in the bottom of the sixth, before the Bearcats went down in order in the top of the seventh.

Fichter was saddled with the hard-luck loss on the hill, working five innings and allowing seven hits and three runs, with four strikeouts.  Gallaway earned the win in relief for the Builders, working 2 1/3 innings and allowing one run on two hits with three strikeouts.

Offensively, SVC managed just five hits, with Galasso leading the charge with a 2-for-3 showing.  

In the nightcap, the Builders got on the board in a hurry, scoring two runs on three hits in the bottom of the first inning. Bearcat starter Gary Gerhardt then settled down, and the game became a pitcher's duel, as the two teams combined for just three hits and four baserunners over the next four innings.

In the top of the fourth, AJ Kavinsky led off with a sharp single to right, and then Aul tripled to center, cutting the deficit to one run.  Galasso followed by walking, and the Bearcats looked to be in business, before Fichter lined out sharply to third base, doubling Galasso off of first.

After the Builders went down in order in the bottom of the fourth, Saint Vincent tied it up in the top of the fifth.  Aul, who reached via fielder's choice, moved to third on Galasso's third hit of the afternoon.  With two outs, the Bearcats executed a perfect double steal, with Galasso taking second and Aul scoring to knot the game at 2-all.

In the top of the seventh, the Bearcats again looked to piece together a rally, but stranded a runner at third base to send the game into the home half.  Gerhardt retired the Builders' first batter, before Gallaway came through with a one-out single.  The Bearcats then got the second out of the inning on a ground ball to Burkardt at short who got the runner at second base, but the Builders abruptly ended things on an RBI triple off the fence in center by Zachary Harding.

Gerhardt worked 6 2/3 innings, scattering eight hits and allowing three runs with four strikeouts.  Much like the first game, SVC's offense struggled, with the Bearcats posting just four hits, one apiece from Galasso, Kavinsky, Aul, and Shaffer.

Coire Barnitz earned the win in relief for the Builders (12-5), working four innings and allowing one run on one hit with three strikeouts.  Gallaway and Andrew Hopper each had two hits for Apprentice.

With the doubleheader sweep, the Bearcats' losing streak is now at four, as the team fell to 3-6 on the season.  The two teams will be back in action on Sunday afternoon, wrapping up the three-game set with a single, nine-inning affair beginning at 12 noon.