Branneky Breaks Two Career Records, Ties A Third
Westminster's senior Tyler Branneky broke two career records and tied a third in Saturday's conference sweep over Greenville College. He broke the career runs record and the RBI record in game one and tied the career home run record in the first game, and junior Connor Hager hit for the cycle (hit a single, double, triple and a home run). The Westminster Blue Jays short-gamed the Greenville Panthers in game one, 21-0, and went on to win game two, 11-6. The Blue Jays are now 13-7 on the season and 4-1 in conference play.
Branneky now has 126 career runs, 126 career runs batted in, and 23 home runs. Earlier this season, he broke the career total bases and career hits records.
Game One
Junior Connor Hager led off the second inning with a double to center field and was brought home with a junior Nick Cessna RBI single to right field. Sophomore Blake Strebler then hit a three-run home run to take a 4-0 lead.
The Blue Jays ran through the entire line up in the second inning, bringing Hager back to the plate to start the third inning. Hager hit a home run to put the Blue Jays up 5-0, and junior Nolan Bax later hit a two RBI double to center field, bringing in junior Tanner Branneky and sophomore Nick Bohlmann.
The Blue Jays scored a total of 10 runs in the sixth inning to take a 17-0 lead. Ty. Branneky hit a three-run home run, Ta. Branneky hit a RBI ground out, and Strebler hit a RBI single. Two batters later, senior Deion Hughes hit a two RBI double to left field, followed by a Ty. Branneky two RBI single to center field. Closing out the high scoring inning was a RBI triple from Hager. The Blue Jays recorded eight of their 22 hits in the inning.
In the seventh inning, the Blue Jays added three more runs to the board. Freshman Mikey Williams scored on a RBI ground out by sophomore Adam Mundle. Ty. Branneky hit a RBI double to left field bringing in Bax, and Hager hit a two RBI fly to center field to bring in Ta. Branneky and Mundle.
The Blue Jays held Greenville to two strikeouts and a ground out, ending the game with a 21-0 eight inning win.
The Blue Jay offense hit three home runs, a triple and four doubles and was led by Hager as he went 4-for-6 from the plate with four RBI and three runs. Hughes, Ty. Branneky and Strebler each recorded three hits. Seven batters recorded RBIs, led by Ty. Branneky with six.
Hughes (7-0) pitched the complete game shutout win. He faced 28 batters, struck out eight and allowed six hits.
Game Two
The Blue Jays put up four runs to start game two. Ty. Branneky hit a RBI double to right field to score Hughes, and Hager followed with a RBI single to left field to bring in Ty. Branneky. With two outs, Bohlmann hit a RBI triple to right field to score Hager. Ta. Branneky then reached first on an error, bringing in Bohlmann.
The team added two more runs in the third inning with RBI singles from Ta. Branneky and Mundle.
Greenville scored their first run of the day with a home run in the bottom of the third inning, bringing the game to 6-1.
In the top of the fourth, Bohlmann hit a two RBI single to right field, scoring Hager and Ta. Branneky, but Greenville answered with a five-run inning in the bottom of the fourth to bring the game to 8-6.
The Blue Jays tacked on one run in the fifth inning with a RBI double by Hager and two runs in the ninth inning. Strebler came home on a fielder's choice, and Bax scored on Ty. Branneky's sacrifice fly out.
Mundle at shortstop threw two runners out at first and Ta. Branneky struck out the final batter to end the game with an 11-6 win.
The Blue Jays outhit Greenville 14-7. Mundle led the offense with three hits, while four batters recorded two hits each.
Senior Collin Brinker (3-2) was credited with the win on the mound. He pitched seven innings and struck out five. Ta. Branneky grabbed the save as he came in as relief and pitched the final two innings.
The Blue Jays continue their conference schedule with a home doubleheader versus Principia College on Tuesday, April 5. First pitch is at 3:00 pm at Saucier Field.
STORY COURTESY OF WESTMINSTER COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION OFFICE
