Eagles rebound, take pair from Grand Rapids

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (March 2, 2015) – Tallahassee Community College got back on the winning track Monday afternoon, taking a pair of games from Grand Rapids (Mich.) Community College, 7-3 and 16-2, at Eagle Field. 

After suffering its first loss at Eagle Field on Sunday to Chattahoochee Valley (Ala.) Community College, Tallahassee turned things around in a big way against the annual visitors from Michigan who opened their season in the Panhandle on Friday. 

In Monday's opener, Tallahassee scored four runs in the first inning and it was enough for starter and winning pitcher Kyle Pausche, who went the distance for the victory. 

Grand Rapids was poised to get out of the first unscathed but left fielder Nolan Page misplayed a fly ball, turning the third out into a bases-clearing error and a 3-0 lead for the Eagles. Kyle Taddeo followed with an RBI-single scoring Zach Featherstone. 

Leading 5-2, Tallahassee padded its lead with a pair of runs in the fourth. D.J. McKnight doubled down the right field line to score Ethan Crout. The next batter, Robert Henderson, scored Tyler Atwell from third on a sac-fly to center. 

Both teams had six hits. No player had more than one hit for Tallahassee. Taddeo drove in two while Featherstone scored twice and was credited with three RBIs. 

Pausche scattered six hits over seven innings, walked four and struck out two. 

In the nightcap, Tallahassee scored in each inning and racked up 12 hits in a 16-2 victory. 

After putting a run on the board in their first at-bat, the Eagles all but put the game away with a six-run second. 

With the bases full, Grand Rapids starter Will Harris hit Cody Fulton to score a run. The next batter, Atwell, drew a walk then McKnight doubled home two runs to push the Eagles' lead to 5-0. After a ground out by Tyler Kinard, Rogers uncorked a wild pitch to bring home McKnight from third to finish the scoring. 

Tallahassee scored single runs in the third and fourth innings then finished its scoring with four in the fifth and three in the sixth. 

Meanwhile, game two starter and winning pitcher Rion Murrah and Cameron Paley combined to hold Grand Rapids to just four hits. Murrah struck out eight over five innings of work to record the victory. 

Offensively, four players had multi-hit games for Tallahassee. The top three hitters in the Eagles' batting order – Crout, Fulton and Atwell – went a combined 6-for-11 and scored nine runs. 

Crout was 2-for-4 with three runs scored. Fulton was 2-for-3, scored four runs and drove in three. Atwell was 2-for-4, scored twice and drove in a run. Chris Clark was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Kinard drove in four runs. McKnight and Featherstone had two RBIs each. 

Tallahassee and Grand Rapids will conclude its series with another doubleheader on Tuesday. Game one begins at 3:30 p.m.