MOUNT VERNON, Ga. – The Brewton-Parker baseball program hosted No. 1 Georgia Gwinnett on Tuesday for a single nine-inning contest in Mount Vernon.

The Barons (6-15) dropped a hard-fought battle against the top-ranked Grizzlies (18-3) with a 4-3 loss.

How It Happened

Both teams connected on singles in the opening inning but neither could produce anything beyond a hit to open the game. In the second inning, the Barons were able to put runners on base with a walk, a single, and a wild pitch but were unable to take advantage of the scoring opportunity, leaving all three runners on base.

Brewton-Parker decided to swap pitchers to open the third inning. Ty Cook started on the mound but was taken off to make way for Trey Jones. Cook gave up just one hit and struck out two batters in the two innings pitched.

After swapping out pitchers, the Barons recovered three-straight groundouts from the Grizzlies to retire the side. Brewton-Parker opened the bottom of the third with two strikeouts, but Zach Wilson connected for a single through the left side. Eduardo Castillo was walked with Wilson advancing to second, but BPC was unable to score either of the two.

The Grizzlies crossed the dish first for a solo score in the top of the fourth. GGC opened with a triple and managed to score on the same play. Georgia Gwinnett was nearly home for additional scores in the fifth inning with two hits, but Brewton-Parker held on to keep all three runners on base.

BPC opened the sixth inning by hitting the leadoff batter, but the runner was picked off at first after reaching the bag. The Grizzlies were able to take a 2-0 lead from a solo shot over the right-center field wall. GGC left two runners on afterward.

The seventh inning resulted in no production for either team other than a pitching change for both sides. In the bottom of the eighth, Brewton-Parker connected on four hits and produced three runs to take a 3-2 lead. Matt Collins reached on a single to left field with Wilson reaching on a walk. The Barons produced the three runs off a homer from Drew DeMasi. Just after, Malik Germany and Jackson Smith both notched singles, but the Barons' offensive efforts were shut down.

Georgia Gwinnett utilized a two-RBI single late in the top of the ninth to recapture the lead, moving the score to 4-2. Jordan Rahn recorded a hit but that was all the Barons could produce as they fell in heartbreaking fashion.

Inside the Statistics

• Brewton-Parker narrowly outhit Georgia Gwinnett 9-8 with DeMasi leading the Barons with two hits and the three RBIs from his homer in the eighth inning.
• Jackson Smith notched 10 putouts followed by DeMasi with seven and Germany with three assists.
• From the mound, Cook pitched for the first two innings with Jones following with four innings pitched. Jones struck out three batters while walking two. In addition, he gave up six hits and two runs.
• Chandler Koerner closed out the afternoon on the mound, pitching for the final three innings. He gave up a pair of runs on just one hit while walking two and striking out a pair of batters.

Next Up

The Barons are set to face Middle Georgia this weekend to open SSAC play.