Berry's Cohen Twirls Shutout In First Collegiate Start

Game 2
Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Point Univ. (23-20)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	1
Berry (16-17)	0	1	0	0	1	0	X	2	5	0
@ Rome, GA | Wm. R. Bowdoin Field

Pitching
Win: Mitchell Cohen (1-1) - Berry
Loss: Avery Robinson (0-0) - Point Univ.

Point Univ. Batting
2B: none
3B: none
HR: none

Berry Batting
2B: none
3B: none
HR: none

full stats

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Point Univ. (23-19)	0	0	2	1	2	0	0	5	8	2
Berry (15-17)	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	4	4
@ Rome, GA | Wm. R. Bowdoin Field

Pitching
Win: Watford (0-0) - Point Univ.
Loss: Levi Austin (2-4) - Berry

Point Univ. Batting
2B: Perritte
3B: none
HR: none

Berry Batting
2B: Brandyn Jackson
3B: none
HR: none

full stats

By Matthew D. Stokes
BerryVikings.com Staff Writer

ROME, Ga. – Berry rebounded from a sloppy showing in game one to earn a split with Point in a Tuesday afternoon baseball doubleheader at William R. Bowdoin Field. Point won the first game 5-2, but Berry responded with a 2-0 victory in the nightcap. Both games were seven-inning contests.

In a cloudy and drizzly first game, Point and Berry exchanged blows in the third inning, as both scored two runs due in no small part to fielding errors. The fielding gaffes continued for Berry, which in part led to three more Point runs in the fourth and fifth innings combined. Those turned out to be all the breathing room Point would need to emerge victorious, snapping Berry's four-game win streak.

Berry right-handed starter Levi Austin (2-4) went five innings and allowed seven hits. Those four Berry errors, including one by the pitcher himself, hurt his cause, as four of the five runs in which he was charged were unearned. Austin struck out five batters.

Point starting pitcher Christian Watford brushed some early defensive missteps to pitch six frames of four-hit ball. He surrendered two runs (one earned) and fanned four. Travis Tarleton pitched a scoreless seventh to record the save, working around a two-out hit batsman.

Berry's Brandyn Jackson went 2-for-2 with a double while Austin Neely drove in a run. Elim Perritte and Jonathan each had two hits to lead Point's eight-hit attack.

"In game one, we had a lot of not necessarily errors, but mistakes," said Berry head coach David Beasley. "We just did a lot of stuff to ourselves."

Game two opened with sunshine illuminating Bowdoin Field as Berry southpaw Mitch Cohen (1-1) made his first college start on the pitching mound.

The freshman lefty pitched to contact and looked vulnerable at times, but hung in with Point's batters. He got stronger as he pitched deeper into the game, setting down eight consecutive Skyhawk batter at one point between the fifth and seventh inning. He finished his first starting assignment with an exclamation point, inducing a game-ending double play grounder to shortstop.

Cohen's first college win was a gem: seven scoreless innings mixed in with five base hits and two walks.

"What can you say about him?" Beasley said of Cohen. "He threw all his pitches for strikes and kept them off-balance."

Avery Robinson took the loss for Point, lasting four innings and allowing one earned run.

At the plate Berry's offense made just enough noise to give Cohen the necessary run support. Its lone runs came on a rundown in the second and a double play grounder in the fifth. T.C. Boyd had two of Berry's five hits.  Five different players singled for Point.

Berry will resume play on Saturday when it travels to play a pair against Toccoa Falls. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

- BerryVikings.com -