Bridgewater (Va.) – The Marymount baseball team took on ODAC counterpart Bridgewater (Va.) in a nonconference twinbill on Saturday afternoon, splitting the doubleheader with the host Eagles and finishing up the season at the 17-17 mark.  The Saints swiped the opener, 9-3, before Bridgewater (24-14-1) stole the getaway game, 14-8.

Marymount (Va.) 9, Bridgewater (Va.) 3
Marymount used a big third inning to corner the Eagles in the opener – plating seven runs to ignite the scoring effort.  Jack Breheny kicked off the frame with a double to right field, advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt attempt gone awry.  Lorenzo Calderon laid down the perfect sac, but a throwing error from Bridgewater third basemen Austin Batten allowed the runners to each reach safely.  Calderon swiped second over the ensuing at-bat, while Ryan Blake drew a one-out walk to load the bases.  Ben Berczek singled through the right side, scoring both Breheny and Calderon, and advancing to second on the throw home.  Blake moved up to third on the play as the Saints created the 2-0 lead.

Brandon Padgett continued the big inning with a single through the left side – scoring both Blake and Berczek, and advancing to second on the throw home.  Max Burcham followed, reaching on another error by Batten, and pushing Padgett to second base.  Stephen Berczek stepped in next and delivered a double to left center – plating Padgett and bringing Burcham around to third, upping the advantage to 5-0.

With two outs in the third, Breheny returned to the dish for his second at-bat of the frame.  The junior shot a sharp single to centerfield to push both Burcham and Berczek across the plate – good for the 7-0 Saints edge.

Bridgewater had no response in their turn on offense, but Marymount would go on to add another tally in the fourth.  Brandon Orbe singled to left center, Ryan Blake double to right field, and Ben Berczek walked – and just like that, the Saints had bases loaded, no outs.  Padgett stepped in next and grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, but Orbe came home easily for the 8-0 Marymount margin.

The Eagles pushed runs across in the fifth and seventh to cut the deficit to five, 8-3, but another lone run from the Saints in the eighth would cap the scoring at 9-3.

Charlie DiGuilian took the win on the mound, improving to 4-1 for his junior campaign.

Berczek and Breheny each recorded two hits and two RBIs in the effort.  Blake also notched a multi-hit outing, while Padgett pocketed a pair of RBIs as well.

Bridgewater (Va.) 14, Marymount (Va.) 8
The nightcap saw the host show some life early, plating a run immediately in their half of the first.  While Marymount promptly nullified the Eagles effort in the second, Bridgewater seemed to find the momentum it had been missing in the opener.

The parley continued into the bottom of the second, as the Eagles used a hit and a Marymount error to push two runs across for the 3-1 edge.  As before, the Saints stood ready to reply, using an almost identical scenario – a hit and a Bridgewater miscue – to pocket two runs for the 3-3 deadlock.  Breheny drew a walk to lead off the inning, scoring all the way from first on a Calderon double to deep left field.  After reaching on a fielder's choice, Padgett came around to score on a throwing error from Bridgewater shortstop Brandon Poole.

The Eagles failed to break the stalemate in the bottom of the third, and the Saints proved equally unsuccessful in their half of the fourth.  It was then the host found some rhythm at the plate.

Bridgewater plated two runs on three hits in the bottom of the fourth – good for the 5-3 advantage.  While Marymount whittled the deficit to just one, 5-4, in the fifth, the Eagles remained unfazed. 

Five hits led to another three runs for Bridgewater in the fifth, and from there the bats went silent for both teams – if only briefly.  Neither squad mustered any offense over the sixth frame, and the 8-4 Eagles edge held moving into the seventh.

Calderon led off the inning with an infield single, moving to second after Padgett reached on a fielding error by Poole.  A double from Ben Berczek saw both runners cross the plate – shaving the margin to two, 8-6.  Unfortunately, that would be as close as Marymount could get.

The Eagles exploded for six runs on six hits in their turn at the plate – upping the ante to 14-6 heading into the eighth.  Marymount used a couple free passes and an RBI-single from Karlis Graubics to push another pair across, but the damage had been done.  The 14-8 margin would hold for the remaining frames.

Calderon paced the offense with a 2-for-5 showing in the leadoff spot – extending his reached-base streak to 14 games.  He swiped two RBIs and a run scored in the effort as well.  Blake finishes the season with a 13-game hit streak and a team-high 26 RBIs.

Having posted an 8-26 mark in its inaugural 2014 campaign, the Saints now finish with a 17-17 record for their 2015 effort.  The second-year Marymount program notched three wins over nationally-ranked opponents this season, and earned its first-ever berth in the CAC postseason tournament.