On the road for the first time this season, the Covenant baseball team faced a stiff challenge in No. 23 Birmingham-Southern. The Panthers scored in the second and fourth innings to defeat the Scots 3-2 on Friday night.
The Scots and the Panthers face off again for games two and three of the series on Saturday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
The Scots managed to put the first run of the game on the scoreboard in the top of the second inning. Scott Gillespie doubled down the left field line to leadoff the inning.
Gillespie was then advanced to third on a ground out by Chris Rollins before scoring on a wild pitch to put Covenant up 1-0.
The Panthers responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the second. Back-to-back singles from Ethan Netherton and Trey Chambers put runners on first and second with two outs for the Panthers. Evan Grovenstein stepped up to the plate and singled, but a wild throw allowed Netherton to score and tie the game.
Birmingham-Southern added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Netherton reached on an error and eventually scored on a wild pitch. David Bourbonnais singled home Chambers with two outs for the second run of the inning to give the home team a 3-1 advantage.
The Scots chipped away at the Panthers’ lead in the top of the fifth inning with a single run. Will Cleland’s one-out double to right-center field setup an RBI double off the bat of Jonathan Carter with two outs to make it 3-2. Carter then advanced to third on a wild pitch, but Birmingham-Southern pitcher Lewis Hammond worked out of that jam to keep to keep the Scots off the scoreboard further.
Hammond (2-0) received the win after going six innings while striking out six batters in 90 pitches. Miles Nordgren picks up the save for the Panthers after throwing the final three innings in relief.
Covenant starting pitcher Tyler Smith (1-1) was hit with the loss, but pitched effectively. Smith pitched five innings and scattered nine hits, all singles, while striking out three and allowing three unearned runs in 93 pitches. Reliever Brian Simons pitched three innings and did not allow a hit.
Bourbonnais went 3-for-4 for Birmingham-Southern (3-3) with an RBI. Chambers added two hits in three at-bats for the Panthers.
Gillespie and Chris Rollins each went 1-for-4 while Cleland and Carter were each 1-for-3. Gillespie and Cleland each added a run scored for Covenant (3-2).