MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - The Berry Vikings fell 11-7 in the series opener Friday against the Belhaven Blazers, despite a valiant effort from the bullpen and a strong day at the plate from Nick Brunswick.
Brunswick started the party early for the Vikings, as his opposite field two-run home run in the first inning gave Berry an early lead. A Belhaven grand slam in the second inning, courtesy of J. D. Weed, gave the Blazers a 4-2 lead.
The Vikings fought back to tie the game in the third inning, with Brunswick scoring on a wild pitch and Charles Pulaski scoring on an error. The Blazers wasted no time responding in the fourth inning, as an RBI single from Trey Flettrich gave Belhaven the lead, and another grand slam, this time from Cole Fletcher, pushed the score to 9-4.
Berry cut into the lead in their half of the fourth on an RBI single from Riley Uhls, making the score 9-5. The Blazers responded quickly yet again, scoring on a passed ball and an RBI single from Hunter Harrell, making the score 11-5 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning.
The Vikings pushed across another run in the bottom of the fifth, when Ethan Finch scored on a wild pitch to make the score 11-6. Berry threatened in the bottom of the sixth by loading the bases, but the Vikings never found the big hit.
Berry threatened again in the bottom of the eighth inning, having runners at second and third with one out. An RBI groundout from Uhls was all the inning had in store for the Vikings, pushing the score to 11-7, where it remained.
Brunswick was the standout on offense, as he went 4-for-4 with a walk, scored three times, knocked in two runs, and finished a triple shy of the cycle. Alex Knapp and Pulaski each had two hits, and Uhls had two RBIs. Knapp also made a stellar leaping catch in deep center field late in the game to go along with his offensive performance.
The bullpen, today consisting of Nicholas Angelakos and Cole Porter, also pitched very well. Angelakos entered the game in the fifth inning and allowed two runs in that inning. He proceeded to shut down the Blazers on offense for the next three innings, benefited by two pickoffs of his own, and one backpick from catcher Andrew Pendleton. Angelakos finished with four strikeouts and no walks across four innings of work, helping to save the bullpen for the doubleheader on Saturday. Porter worked a scoreless ninth with a strikeout.
Berry will be back in action Saturday, as they finish the series with Belhaven in a doubleheader. Game one is set to start at 1 p.m. ET, with game two set to start shortly after the completion of game one.
