Baton Rouge began the 2017 campaign with a three game series at Panola College. The Ponies outlasted BRCC by taking the first two games of the series before the Bears bounced back to win the final game.
In the season opener on Friday evening, Baton Rouge found themselves trailing early in the game. After getting through the first inning scoreless, starting pitcher, Luke Bergeron, gave up nine hits and nine runs (eight earned) over the second and third innings. BRCC faced a large hole that it couldn't climb out.
The Bears bats tried to get them back in the game. BRCC managed eleven hits and by the middle of the seventh inning had cut the deficit to three, trailing 10-7. Panola College silenced any effort of a comeback, when they plated four runs in the bottom half of the seventh inning.
BRCC could not keep pace and dropped the opener 17-8.
John Mauldin and Joseph Domingue both homered in the contest. The two sophomore sluggers, couple with Hunter David and Nicholas Cuccia, each had two hits to lead the Bears offensive attack.
Game two saw BRCC get off to another slow start. The Bears trailed 5-0 after three innings; starting pitcher, Melvin Frazier couldn't get out of the third inning. He gave up five runs on five hits and four walks in his first outing of the season.
BRCC mustered only five hits, not getting on the scoreboard until the eighth inning with three runs. But it proved to be a little to late and fell in game two 13-3.
Tyler Laporte finished 2 for 3 with a walk, he was the only BRCC player to record multiple hits in the game.
BRCC bounced back to win game three of the series on Saturday evening. BRCC trailed early again in this one, but a 2-0 deficit after two innings was not enough to stave off the BRCC bats.
Brooks Southall started the game on the mound for Baton Rouge; Southall gave up six hits in four innings, but Panola only scored two runs.
BRCC took the lead in the third inning when the Bears scored four runs.
Panola outhit BRCC 10-7, but the Bears were able to muster enough runs to notch the first win of the season with an 8-6 victory.
Zachary Buster finished 1 for 2 with an RBI. He also scored a run.
John Mauldin had a RBI double and he went 1 for 3 in the game.
Tyler Laporte knocked in two runs with a single, finishing the game 1 for 4.
BRCC is back in action tomorrow with a doubleheader at Bossier Parish Community College. First pitch is set for 11:30 am.