Eagles Open the Floodgates in Doubleheader Against Toccoa Falls
David Finney
Waleska, Ga. - The Eagles would bounce back from a tough conference doubleheader with St. Andrews on Monday with two great games on Tuesday in a match-up with Toccoa Falls College. It was a good day to get things back on track before the conference series coming up this Friday and Saturday. It was also a good time to get more players some innings on the field. A few long-balls by Tucker Zdunich (two in game one) and Alvaro Valdez (game two) would get these games wide open and the Eagles would run away with the two wins. The Eagles' pitching staff shut down the Toccoa Falls after the first few innings of game one and all the players seemed to be enjoying playing baseball after that.
GAME ONE, 18-2 Win
Summary: In game one, it would take a few innings to get rolling. The Screaming Eagles from Toccoa Falls would actually stay in the game for the first three innings, but then the bats for Reinhardt got going. In the fourth inning, the Eagles would score 6 runs led by Dalton Turnbow and Albert Mora. Turnbow had a single which scored Nick Sanders and Mora would double to left which scored Jacob Profit and Patrick Baggett. The next big inning for the Eagles was in the bottom of the sixth inning where Reinhardt would put up a whopping 10 runs. There were many that contributed to this scoring barrage, but the highlight was Tucker Zdunich's Grand Slam Home Run to seal the deal on the game. This was Zdunich's second home run of the game as well. Zdunich had a tremendous game showing why he is one of the Eagles' best hitters. Dalton Turnbow would have a solid day for the Eagles going 2 for 3 in this game. Albert Mora would go 2 for 3 as well and scoring one run.
Andrew Herbert would get the start in game one of the series and he would pitch four great innings. Herbert would have 7 strikeouts in the four innings and only allow 4 hits. Will Cassell would come in at the top of the fifth inning to relieve Herbert and he would have one strikeout and one hit in those two innings. Aiden Berggren would come in at the top of the seventh to finish out the game for the Eagles. Reinhardt would take game one 18-2.
Top Performers:
• Tucker Zdunich - 2 Home Runs (one a Grand Slam!), 5-4 hitting for the game.
• Albert Mora, Nick Sanders, and Dalton Turnbow all had doubles.
• Andrew Herbert, 4 innings pitch, only game up 2 runs and recorded 3 strikeouts in four innings.
GAME TWO, 15-0 Win
Summary: Daniel Lee would get the starting spot on the mound for the Eagles. He would be relieved by Jailey Parades after pitching four innings and striking out 4 batters. Braxton Turnbow would come in to end the game in the top of the seventh inning. All the pitchers combined for a shutout win for the Eagles and only gave up 4 hits for the game.
The Eagles would score runs throughout, however, the bottom of the second, fourth, and sixth innings are where they would do most of their damage scoring runs. Alvaro Valdez hit a homer in the third inning which also scored Jacob Profit. Dalton Turnbow would single to right field to score Nick Sanders. In the fourth, the Eagles had the bases loaded when Valdez was hit by a pitch. This brought in pinch-runner, Dawson Johns who was on third. Next, Patrick Baggett would draw a walk which brought home, Lance Dockery. For the final run of the fourth inning, Jarrett Burney would put the ball in play for a fielder's choice and this would score Will Underwood who was walked earlier in the inning.
In the sixth inning, the floodgates of runs opened up once more. Burney would single to right field scoring Baggett. Alex Coulter would have a double which scored Burney. Will Underwood singled to center which scored Dawson Johns. A throwing error allowed the base runners to advance putting Underwood on second and Dockery went home. Valdez would get a single next to the second baseman and this would score Cedric Cullars from third. Burney would come up to the plate again in the inning to get a walk and this would bring in Underwood. Blaine Ingram would single next which scored Valdez for the final run of the game. In total, the Eagles put seven across home plate.
Top Performers:
• Daniel Lee, Pitched 4 innings striking out 4 and giving only two hits.
• Jailey Parades, Pitched two innings striking out 3 and giving up zero hits.
• Alvaro Valdez, 2 RBI Home Run - 2 for 4 hitting
• Alex Coulter, Nick Sanders, Patrick Baggett, and Lance Dockery all had doubles.
• Will Underwood, 2 for 2 at the plate.
The Eagles will return to action this Friday and Saturday for a conference series with Johnson University (TN). It will be a good time for the Eagles to get a streak going and pick up a few conference wins. Game one is Friday at 4 pm at Ken White Field and the doubleheader is Saturday at 12 pm and 3 pm.
