GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Hunter Donaldson pitched a nine-inning complete game gem to lead the Brevard College baseball team to a 5-1 South Atlantic Conference victory over Tusculum College Friday night at Pioneer Park.
Donaldson held the Pioneers (24-13, 16-8 SAC) heading into the ninth inning and was one out away achieving the clean-sheet before Travis Winnon and Nick Rodriguez posted back-to-back doubles to break-up the shutout.
In Donaldson's 149-pitch performance, he scattered seven hits, walked four and struck out seven for his complete game of 2015. Donaldson aided his own cause at the plate going 2-for-3 with RBI.
Brevard (18-23, 12-15 SAC) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Christian Dix reached on an infield single and moved to second on a Tusculum error. Ryan Smith doubled to right field to drive in Dix from second base, while Donaldson was gunned down at the plate on a relay strike from first baseman Jeremiah Tullidge.
Tusculum had a couple of early scoring opportunities, starting with the bottom of the first. Andrew Bowerman led off with a single to extend his hitting streak to 11 consecutive games. He moved to second on Jeovanny Tolentino's bunt. Tullidge drew a one-out walk and he and Bowerman moved up a base on a double-steal. Jim Tolle hit a sharp grounder to shortstop Pat Quinn, who threw home to get Bowerman out at the plate for the second out. Donaldson ended the threat with a ground out to get out of the inning.
In the third inning, the Pioneers loaded the bases with three straight singles from Rodriguez, Bowerman and Tolentino. But Donaldson got out of the jam with a strikeout of Tullidge and a induced Tolle to ground into an inning-ending double play.
The Tornados added a run in the fourth inning and three unearned runs in the fifth, including a RBI single from Brock Helton and a Donaldson sacrifice fly against Tusculum starter Placido Torres.
Donaldson would not allow a base-runner into scoring position until the later innings.
With Brevard leading 5-0, Tusculum reliever Cameron Carney held the Tornados in check as he pitched four shutout innings.
Torres (5-3) suffers his first home loss in his six starts at Pioneer Park this season. He went five innings, allowed seven hits, five runs, with four of those being unearned. He also posted one walk and three strikeouts in his 93-pitch effort.
Carney scattered three hits with no walks and four strikeouts.
Bowerman went 3-for-5 to lead Tusculum offensively, while Rodriguez went 2-for-4, including his RBI double in the ninth, his fourth two-bagger of the season.
The two teams will wrap up the weekend SAC series with a 2 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday. Tusculum will honor its 12 seniors prior to Saturday's first game.
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