After starting the season 14-3, the Roanoke College baseball team dropped their first two conference games on Saturday. Old Dominion Athletic Conference rival Bridgewater beat the Maroons twice, 6-3 and 4-0, at Salem Memorial Ballpark in Salem.
The Maroons committed five errors in game one. BC jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first as Brandon Poole scored following a double from Kenner Berry. With two outs, Berry scored on a RC infield error before closing out the inning.
Bridgewater added another run in the second off a double from Austin Batten, making it 3-0 Eagles.
After giving up a run in the seventh, BC scored its final pair of runs in the top of the eighth off an RC error and a single from Chris King for a 6-0 advantage.
Roanoke cut the deficit to three in the bottom of the eighth as Will Decker doubled home Collier Donald. Dean Hermanson kept the inning going with a two-out RBI single to left, then Cody Shell drove in a run with a single to right field to make it 6-3. That would be the final score.
RC was led by Hermanson, who went 3-for-4 with one RBI. Decker and Shell each added an RBI.
In the nightcap Bridgewater scored a single run in four separate innings and allowed only four hits en route to 4-0 win in game two.
Four different Maroons recorded hits in game two, while John Ruhlman (1-1) was tabbed with the loss after 5.1 innings, allowing 11 hits and three runs.
The Maroons were anxious to get the taste of the double dumping out of their systems, but Monday’s game with Courtland was cancelled and Tuesday’s game with Southern Virginia was postponed. The Maroons will try again Saturday with a noon ODAC doubleheader at Eastern Mennonite in Harrisonburg.