#TCCBaseball sweeps ABAC to improve to 7-0

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (February 5, 2016) – Playing its home opener, Tallahassee Community College kept its perfect record intact, sweeping a doubleheader from Abraham Baldwin (Ga.) Agricultural College on Friday afternoon in the TCC Diamond Classic. 

The Eagles won game one, 6-1, then held on for an 8-6 win in the nightcap. 

In the opener, freshman pitcher Brooks Buckler and sophomore Rion Murrah combined to hold the Stallions to five hits in the 6-1 victory. 

Buckler (1-0) went four innings to earn the win while Murrah notched his first save of the season with three scoreless innings in relief. 

Tallahassee gave Buckler all the run support he needed, scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. With nobody on, Deyvid Silva drew a two-out walk to extend the inning. Zach Featherstone and Kyle Cavanaugh followed with back-to-back doubles to put Tallahassee in front, 2-0. 

ABAC cut the Eagles' lead in half with a run in the third, but Tallahassee put the game away in the fourth, thanks in large part to two plays, including a highlight reel defensive gem. 

In the top of the fourth, Buckler ended his day in style. With runners on first and second and nobody out, Buckler induced a ground ball to third baseman Mac Wilson, who stepped on the bag at third, starting a 5-4-3 (Wilson-Josh Nothdorft-Cavanaugh) triple play to end the Stallions' threat. 

In the bottom half, again with two outs, Featherstone roped a bases-clearing double down the right field line, scoring Ethan Crout, Tyler Kinard and Silva. 

Featherstone finished 3-for-3 with three doubles and four RBIs. 

Tallahassee tacked on a run in the sixth, when a passed ball allowed Wilson to score from third. 

In the nightcap, Tallahassee broke a 3-all tie with three runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth, but had to survive a last-inning rally by ABAC before nailing down the 8-6 win. 

Trailing 1-0, the Eagles plated three runs in the bottom of the third. 

Nothdorft singled home two runs then later scored on a two-out single by Cavanaugh. 

After ABAC rallied to tie the game in the fourth, Tallahassee continued its two-out magic in the fifth. 

Bryan Scheker drew a bases-loaded walk to score Cavanaugh then Wilson singled, scoring Manny Chavarria and Kyle Taddeo. 

When Tallahassee scored twice in the sixth, it appeared to be nothing more than insurance. As it turned out, Chavarria's two-run single proved to be the difference in the game. 

ABAC scored three unearned runs off Felix Dieguez in the seventh, forcing Mike McLeod to call on Nick Marchese, who recorded the final out for his second save. 

Dieguez (2-0) picked up the win with 2.2 innings of work in relief of starter Skylar Arias who went the first four innings. 

Cavanaugh and Scheker both went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Chavarria was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and Wilson was 1-for-2 with two RBIs. 

The TCC Diamond Classic continues on Saturday when the Eagles host East Georgia State College in a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.