SAVANNAH, Ga. – Davis & Elkins baseball won the middle game of a three-game set against Savannah State over the weekend in Georgia.
The Senators opened the series with a 5-1 loss to Savannah State on March 6 before following it up with a 5-2 win in the opening matchup of a doubleheader on March 7. The Tigers nabbed a narrow win over the Senators in the second game of the doubleheader, 8-7.
Game One: Savannah State 5, Davis & Elkins 1
The Tigers received a strong starting pitching performance to stifle the D&E offense in the opening game of the season.
Zachary Higgins and
Gabriel Patxot had two hits each for D&E and
Zachary McGillan fired five strikeouts in his start on the mound.
Savannah State plated one run in the bottom of the first and added two more in the second to take a 3-0 lead. D&E surrendered two more runs in the bottom of the fifth before posting its lone run of the contest in the top of the sixth.
Najay King led off the sixth with a single and moved to second on a single from
Jordan Worley.
Troy McMillion advanced the runners 90 feet with a sacrifice bunt. Patxot put the Senators on the board with his single to short as King crossed home plate to make the score 5-1.
D&E had its best chance to get back into the game in the eighth, unable to convert with the bases loaded and one out as Savannah State worked out of the jam.
Game Two: Davis & Elkins 5, Savannah State 2
Brent McMillion and
Max Larimore combined for stellar outing on the mound, holding the Tigers to just two runs in the opening game of Saturday's doubleheader. Offensively, the Senators pushed across three runs in the third inning.
Five different players collected multiple knocks for the Senators as
John Arcaro led the squad with three RBI. McMillion tossed five innings, allowing just a pair of earned runs on nine hits with five strikeouts, while Larimore added four more punchouts on his way to a three-inning save.
The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the second, but it was short lived as the Senators responded in the third.
Chase DeGrood reached base with a one-out single, later swiping second and moving to third on a wild pitch.
Jordan Worley posted a run-scoring single before Arcaro slapped a double to left, plating Worley and King for a 3-1 lead.
The Tigers got to within one at 3-2 in the fifth before the Senators added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh. Arcaro and Higgins notched run-scoring singles in the seventh for a 5-2 lead before Larimore sent the Tigers down in order to secure the win.
Game Three: Savannah State 8, Davis & Elkins 7
Runs came in bunches in the final game of the series as D&E posted two to start the game before the Tigers notched five runs of their own to take the lead. Higgins, DeGrood and
Jordan Worley had two hits apiece foe the Senators, who cracked 11 hits in the nightcap.
SSU pushed across two more runs in the third for a 7-2 edge. D&E attempted to battle back, notching three runs in the fourth and two in the fifth to slice the deficit to 8-7. DeGrood pushed across a run on a bases loaded walk, as
Anthony Laney crossed the plate. The Senators received two more runs on a throwing error as Alex Castenada and Higgins crossed home.
The Senators plated the final two runs of the doubleheader, coming off a sacrifice fly from Patxot and a fielder's choice.
Up Next
Davis & Elkins begins Mountain East Conference (MEC) with a pair of home doubleheaders, beginning Saturday, March 14 against Fairmont State at 1:00 PM.
