The 2016 Blackburn College Baseball Team opened their season in Springdale, Arkansas for the first time as they took on the Royals of Ecclesia College. The Royals erupted for an eleven-run first inning on their way to a 13-2 victory.
After the Beavers went scoreless in the top of the first, Blackburn starter Tyler Morgan walked the lead-off man, then Ecclesia executed a hit and run and momentum snowballed against Morgan and the Beavers. The Royals sent sixteen men to the plate as Morgan lasted 2/3 of an inning before being relieved by Tyler Gosnell. The inning included seven hits, four Blackburn walks and two Beaver errors.
Gosnell kept the Beavers in the game with 2 1/3 innings of relief only allowing two runs, just one earned. Blackburn relievers Jake Lochhead and Reed Rusten made their debuts and contributed three scoreless innings between them.
Blackburn scored in the third inning, as Aaron Moody scored from second base on an error by the Royals thirdbaseman off the bat of Shane Lewis. The Beavers scored again in the fourth as Brock Hill singled, advanced to second base on a wild pitch then scored on an rbi single by Walter Jarvis. Hill had two of the Beavers three hits on the afternoon.
The two teams meet again tomorrow afternoon in a doubleheader, Blackburn's two Jarrett's, Jarrett Sandlin and Jarrett Luckett will start on the mound for Blackburn.
Notes:
* It was at least the 17th consecutive season-opening loss for Blackburn.
* This was the first ever meeting between the two work program colleges as Ecclesia is just seven years old as an institution
* Of Ecclesia's 13 runs, only four were earned