Bears Baseball drop series opener to the Southeastern CC Blackhawks

Sunday, March 9, 2025: Baseball 

Baton Rouge, LA  

The Baton Rouge Bears kicked off a two-game series against the Southeastern Community College Blackhawks this afternoon at Pate Goldsby Field. Unfortunately, the Bears struggled to keep up with the Blackhawks' potent offense, suffering a 13-3 defeat in the series opener, which ended after seven innings due to the run rule. 

The Blackhawks quickly put runs on the board, scoring two in the first inning to take an early 2-0 lead. They added another run in the second inning and three more in the third to pull ahead 6-0. The Bears managed to score one run in the third inning. Jackson Martin led off with a single to left field and advanced to third on a fly single by Kenneth Berard. Aidan Machado then hit a sacrifice fly to right field, allowing Martin to tag up and score. After three innings, the Bears trailed 6-1. 

Continuing their strong performance, the Blackhawks scored two more runs in the fourth inning and five runs in the fifth, extending their lead to 13-1. Grayson Davis and Conner Mayeaux came in as relief pitchers, holding the Blackhawks scoreless in the sixth and seventh innings, giving the Bears a chance to rally and extend the game. In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Bears managed to score two runs, though it wasn't enough. Dillion Bird was hit by a pitch, followed by back-to-back walks from Kenneth Berard and Aidan Machado, loading the bases. Brayden Bertucci then drew a walk to bring in Bird, and Cooper Martin hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Berard from third. 

Jack Cowan started on the mound for the Bears and took the loss, pitching 3.2 innings, allowing 8 runs on 9 hits, while walking 1 and striking out 1. Kaiden Broussard (0.2 innings), Grayson Davis (1.2 innings), and Conner Mayeaux (1.0 innings) contributed in relief for the Bears. Eddy Eveland started for the Blackhawks and earned the victory, pitching 5 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits, walking 2, and striking out 3. 

Southeastern Community College outhit Baton Rouge 12 to 5, and the Blackhawks committed one error during the game. 

Bears Highlights:  

Jake Brouillette went 1 for 3  

Jackson Martin went 1 for 4 with 1 run  

Dillion Bird had 1 run and 1 walk  

Kenneth Berard went 1 for 3 with 1 run and 1 walk  

Brayden Bertucci had 1 walk and 1 RBI  

Cooper Martin went 1 for 3 with 1 RBI  

Shawn Driggers went 1 for 3  

Hudson Heltz had 1 walk 

With this loss, the Bears fell to 4-21, while the Blackhawks improved to 10-5. Southeastern Community College now leads the all-time series against Baton Rouge with 4 wins and 1 loss. 

The Bears and the Blackhawks will conclude their series tomorrow, Monday, March 10, at Pete Goldsby Field. The first pitch is scheduled for noon.  

For more information on the Bears baseball team, follow us on Twitter at (@BRCC_Baseball) and on Instagram and Facebook at (BRCCAthletics)