NEWBERRY — Newberry rode another impressive offensive performance and the arm of Evan Estridge to a win over Brevard in the first game of a South Atlantic Conference twinbill Saturday afternoon before the Tornados salvaged a game in the day’s second contest.

Estridge scattered six hits and did not issue a walk to pick up his second win of the season for Newberry (11-9, 2-1 SAC). The freshman lowered his ERA to 2.81 and tallied four strikeouts in the winning effort, holding the Tornados (6-13, 2-4 SAC) scoreless through his seven innings of work. He retired 12 out of 13 batters stretching from the third to the seventh innings and allowed just one batter to reach third base.

John Mason Reynolds and Shannon Smith combined to close out the game’s final two frames. The Tornados broke through for a run in the eighth on an RBI groundout, but the Wolves coasted to a 15-1 win after spending the better part of the afternoon building a large advantage.

Newberry plated nine runs in the middle innings a day after scoring 13 in the fourth through sixth frames in Friday’s series opener. The runs added to the four-run cushion the Wolves built in the second inning, with the biggest blow of the frame coming on Daymon Totherow’s two-run double that was ripped down the left field line.

Pinch hitter Ben Herring added his second home run of the season in the eighth inning, a towering shot to left field that gave the Wolves their final two runs of the contest.

Derek Olenchuk had an impressive outing at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored, and four RBI’s in Saturday’s first game. Robert Kosch scored four runs on a 3-for-4 day with a walk. Ten Wolves recorded at least one hit in the 16-hit barrage.

The Tornados exacted their revenge, however, in a 7-3 Game Two nailbiter that featured a long three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning that wrapped around the right field foul pole to salt the game away.

The Wolves scored a pair in the first inning on Olenchuk’s first home run of the season following a walk and a sacrifice bunt to retake the lead after an early Brevard run. Brevard scored twice in the fourth to move ahead 3-2 and plated another run in the sixth.

Newberry put runners on second and third with one out in the sixth facing a two-run deficit, halving the lead on an RBI groundout by Andrew Crook. But the Wolves stranded the potential tying run at third and were unable to complete a two-out rally in the seventh as the Tornados closed out the victory.

Brevard starter Tyler Konzen needed 114 pitches for the complete game win. He allowed seven hits to the Wolves, the team’s fewest in its last 11 games, while striking out six. Josh Stempihar fell to 2-2 on the season by surrendering four runs in his five innings of work.

Danton Hyman had a pair of hits in the contest to lead Newberry while Totherow worked a walk in two official at-bats. The pair have both reached base in each of Newberry’s 20 games this season; Totherow’s streak sits at 31 games and Hyman’s 30 dating back to the 2016 season.

The Game Two loss snaps a seven-game winning streak for the Wolves, who are 8-2 in their last 10 contests. Newberry will attempt to return to its winning ways with a non-conference game against North Greenville on Tuesday at Lexington County Baseball Stadium. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.

Estridge
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Staff Report