Brandon’s baseball team moved past the break-even mark with a April 19 doubleheader win against Swartz Creek.
The host Blackhawks defeated the Panthers 9-3 in the opener and 14-10 in the nightcap, improving to 7-5 on the season.
In the first game, the Blackhawks took a 3-0 lead into the fourth inning, but the Panthers answered with three runs in the top of the fourth to tie the game at three.
Brandon answered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth and four runs in the bottom of the fifth to pull away for the win.
Andrew Harding was a triple away from hitting for the cycle for the Blackhawks, going 3-for-4 with a double and home run, scoring three runs and driving in three more. Derek Foyt went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Ray Reynolds went the distance for the win, allowing three runs (none earned) on four hits while striking out three.
In the nightcap, the Blackhawks broke open a close game with five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Mark Butzu keyed the Brandon offense by going 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored, while Foyt went 3-for-4 witn two runs scored and an RBI.
Brandon’s up-and-down start is something that concerns Coach Ron Wagner.
‘Our consistency is something that I didn’t think we’d have to worry about,? he said in an April 20 interview. ‘We’ve been committing too many errors. Last night (against Swartz Creek) we put together two of our better games.?
The Blackhawks had an up and down day in an April 18 doubleheader against Linden. Brandon took the opener 1-0, but lost the nightcap 15-0.
Foyt was masterful for Brandon in the opening game, throwing eight scoreless innings while going 2-for-4 at the plate. Harding drove in the only run of the game when he drove in Matt Rife with a sacrifice fly.
It was a completely different story in the nightcap, as Linden dominated from the opening pitch. Foyt provided one of the few Brandon highlights by going 2-for-2 at the plate.
The Blackhawks swept Owosso in a nonconference doubleheader April 15, winning the opener 10-5 and the nightcap 7-2.
In the first game, Andrew Burch picked up the win on the mound for the Blackhawks, and helped his own cause by hitting a two-run home run. Foyt added a 2-for-3 performance with an RBI and a run scored.
The Blackhawks wasted no time getting going in the second game, which was shortened to five innings, scoring three runs in the first inning and three more in the second.
Harding went 2-for-2 with two runs scored, and Tony Kraydich went 2-for-3 with three runs scored. Austin Dery was the winning pitcher for Brandon.
The Blackhawks were overwhelmed in an April 14 twin bill against Flint Powers, dropping the opener 16-0 (in three innings) and the nightcap 17-2.
‘Those were the two worst losses I’ve taken in my 14 years here,? Wagner said. ‘Flint Powers always has a good program, and they’re usually ranked. I felt we should have should have given them a game, but they showed up and we didn’t.?
The Blackhawks didn’t help their cause by committing 14 errors in the two games. ‘You’re not going to win too many games making 14 errors, I don’t care who you’re playing,? Wagner said.
In the opener, the Chargers scored four runs in the first inning and one more in the second game before putting the game out of reach with 11 runs in the third inning, as the game was stopped due to the mercy rule.
The Blackhawks managed only two hits in the game, one each by Harding and Foyt.
Brandon didn’t fare much better in the second game, as the Chargers jumped to a quick 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
Reynolds drove in the Blackhawks? only two runs, driving in Andrew Spry and Foyt with a two-out RBI single.
However, the Blackhawks could not shut down the Chargers? offense, as Powers scored four runs in the second, two in the third, one in the fourth, and five in the fifth.