Bears Baseball split the series with the St. Louis Archers

Sunday, February 16, 2025: Baseball 

Denham Springs, La 

The Baton Rouge Bears and the St. Louis Archers met this afternoon on the diamond to conclude their four-game weekend series. The Bears would come back to win game one 6-5 and losing game two 6-1 

Game One 

The Bears would rally late to take the 6-5 comeback victory in game one of today's doubleheader against the St. Louis Archers. 

For the third straight game, the St. Louis Archers scored first, plating two runs in the first inning to take the early lead. The Bears responded with three runs in the bottom of the frame, taking a 3-2 lead. Jake Brouillette drew a walk, Dillion Bird singled, and both were moved over by a Jackson Martin sacrifice bunt. Hudson Heltz then drew a walk, loading the bases for the Bears. Trent Laporte hit a single to left field, scoring Brouillette, while Chase Kelley singled up the middle, scoring Bird and Hudson for the Bears' second and third runs of the inning. 

In the third inning, W. Muench of the Archers led off with a home run to left field, tying the game at three. The Bears regained the lead in the fourth inning when Jake Brouillette hit his first collegiate home run, a two-run shot to left field, putting the Bears up 5-3. The Archers inched closer, scoring a run in the fifth inning to make it 5-4. Again, the Archers tied the game in the sixth inning with a solo home run by D. Schulte, bringing the score to 5-5. 

The Bears rallied in the sixth inning, scoring the go-ahead run to take a 6-5 lead. Dylan Cedotal reached base after being hit by a pitch and was replaced by pinch runner Aidan Machado. Shawn Driggers singled to left field, and Dillion Bird hit a line drive to left, scoring Machado. Klayton Wingfield shut down the Archers in the bottom of the seventh with three strikeouts, securing the Bears' 6-5 victory. 

Cade Robin started on the mound for the Bears, pitching 4 innings and allowing 3 runs on 6 hits while walking 3 and striking out 6. Tanner Cranford earned the victory for the Bears, pitching 2 innings and allowing 2 runs on 2 hits. He walked 1 and struck out 2. Klayton Wingfield earned the save, pitching 1 inning and striking out three. Z. Hoffman took the loss for the Archers, pitching 1.1 innings and allowing 1 run on 2 hits while striking out 1. L. Slinkard started for the Archers, pitching 4.2 innings, allowing 5 runs on 5 hits while walking 5 and striking out 3. 

St. Louis outhit Baton Rouge 8 to 7, and neither team committed an error. 

Bears Highlights:  

Jake Brouillette went 1 for 2 with 2 walks 2 Runs, 2 RBIs and his first collegiate homer 

Dillion Bird went 3 for 4 with 1 run and 1 RBI including the game winning hit 

Hudson Heltz had 1 run and 1 walk 

Trent Laporte we at 1 for 3 with 1 RBI 

Chase Kelly went 1 for 3 with 2 RBIs 

Shawn Driggers went 1 for 3 

Dylan Cedotal had a key HBP 

Game Two 

In the final game of the weekend series between the Archers and Bears, the Bears struggled at the plate, losing to the Archers 6-1. The Bears scored first with a run in the first inning via a solo home run by Dillion Bird to left field. Jack Cowan, the Bears' pitcher, shut down the Archers' offense for the first 2.1 innings. The Archers broke through in the third inning, plating three runs to take a 3-1 lead. They struck again in the fifth inning, adding two more runs to extend their lead to 5-1. The Archers sealed their victory with an insurance run in the seventh inning, finalizing the score at 6-1. 

Jack Cowan started on the mound for the Bears and took the loss, pitching 3 innings and allowing 3 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits. Jayse Degruy (2.0 innings), Chase Kelley (1.0 inning), and Conner Mayeux (1.0 inning) pitched in relief for the Bears. M. Brown started for the Archers and earned the victory, pitching a complete game and allowing 1 run on 1 hit while striking out 7. 

St. Louis outhit Baton Rouge 8 to 1, and Baton Rouge committed one error in the game.  

Bears Highlights:  

Dillion Bird went 1 for 3 with 1 run and a solo home run. 

With the split, Baton Rouge improved to 3-13, while St. Louis improved to 2-6 on the season. The Bears lead the all-time series with 25 wins to 15 losses against St. Louis.

The Bears will be back in action this Friday, February 21, when they host the Jones College Bobcats at Pete Goldsby Field. The doubleheader is slated to start at 3 PM. 

For more information on the Bears Baseball team follow us on Twitter at (@BRCC_Baseball) and Instagram and Facebook at (BRCCAthletics)