Brandon’s varsity baseball team salvaged a tough week by splitting a doubleheader against Lapeer West May 9.
The Blackhawks lost the opener 9-5, but rallied to win the nightcap 4-2. Brandon’s record is now 11-13 overall and 3-7 in Flint Metro League action.
Brandon let a 3-0 lead get away in the first game. After four innings of scoreless action, the Blackhawks scored three runs in the top of the fifth inning.
However, the Panthers roared back, scoring nine runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 9-3 lead. The Blackhawks rallied for two runs in the top of the seventh, but it was not enough.
Mark Butzu and Derek Foyt each went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.
In the nightcap, the Panthers jumped to a 2-0 lead after scoring a run each in the first and third innings, but Brandon rallied for one run in the top of the fourth and three in the top of the fifth.
Foyt, Matt Rife and Andrew Hyde each went 1-for-3 for Brandon, while Austin Dery earned the win on the mound in relief of Andrew Burch.
The Blackhawks dropped both ends of a May 5 twin bill against league rival Oxford, losing the opener 10-8 and the nightcap 9-0.
In the first game, Andrew Harding and Butzu provided some bright spots for the Blackhawks, with Harding going 3-for-5 with two doubles and Butzu notching two hits and three RBI.
The Blackhawks scored two runs each in the first and second innings, sandwiched between a three-run Oxford first, leaving the Blackhawks with a 4-3 lead.
However, the Wildcats took a 6-3 lead after scoring three runs in the bottom of the third. Brandon tied things up with two in the top of the fourth, but Oxford scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth to put the game away.
Brandon also took it on the chin May 4 against Clarkston, losing a twin bill to the Wolves, 9-0 in the opener and 10-0 in the nightcap.
In the first game, Clarkston got all the runs they would need in the first inning, scoring four times. Travis Spry notched the Blackhawks? only hit, a third-inning single.
Things weren’t much better for the Blackhawks in the second game, as they tallied only two hits, one each by Harding and Curtis Byers. The Wolves used a seven-run sixth inning to put away the Blackhawks.