Baseball Concludes Spring Break With Split

WINTER HAVEN, FL -- Blackburn College Baseball concluded their spring break trip to Florida with a doubleheader against Cornell College and rebounded from a 12-0 loss in the opener to finish with a 19-2 victory in the nightcap. 

Freshman Landon Harbach posted a team-best four hits. Senior Gavin Griffith, freshman Jeremy Mazariegos, freshman Joey Congi and sophomore Andrew Medina all had three hits. Griffith also led the team with three runs batted in and tied Congi and sophomore Jordan Kelly by scoring three runs. 

The Beavers bounced back from a tough opener to power out to an early lead in the second game as they scored 10 runs in the first inning. Senior Royce Congi and junior Joshua Moreno both walked and J. Congi singled to load the bases. Medina hit into a groundout but was able to score R. Congi. Harbach followed with a single to score Moreno and then Kelly singled to score J.Congi and put BC ahead 3-0. 

After a pitching change, Mazariegos singled and loaded the bases again. Griffith came up next and knocked in Harbach, then senior Harley Carney walked which scored Kelly. Up 5-0, Moreno followed an out by getting on due to a Cornell error which scored Mazariegos. J. Congi followed with a double to score Griffith and Medina came up next with another double allowing J. Congi and Moreno to score, putting the Beavers ahead 10-0. 

With bases loaded in the second inning, J. Congi walked to score Griffith. Cornell responded with two runs in the third but BC answered by adding three more runs in the third. Kelly started the inning with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Griffith was up next and singled, scoring Kelly. Griffith took advantage of another wild pitch before Carney and R. Congi walked to load the bases again. Moreno followed with a ball that resulted in another Cornell error allowing Carney and Griffith to score and made it 14-2. 

Medina and Harbach opened the fourth inning with back to back singles and Kelly walked. With bases loaded, Mazariegos and Griffith singled, and Carney walked to score three more runs. The scoring finished with a sacrifice fly by Moreno to score Mazariegos and made it 18-2. 

Blackburn closed out the game with a final run in the sixth inning with J. Congi hitting his third home run this season making it 19-1 for the win. The 19 runs are the most since a 24 run outing against Principia in 2023. 

With the split, the Beavers return home standing at 9-5 on the season. BC returns to action Saturday March 21 when they will host Maranatha Baptist University.