Brevard, NC - The Oberlin College baseball team opened the 2024 season on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Brevard College Tornados 6-2 in game one before letting the nightcap slip away in a 4-3 defeat. 

Senior co-captain Justin Fuls (1-0) got the start on the bump in the lid-lifter and lived dangerously throughout five innings of work but wiggled his way around six walks, surrendering just one unearned run and three hits to go along with two strikeouts to secure the second win of his career.

Fuls was gifted an early lead before he took to the mound. First-year Brady Groves belted a double in first collegiate at-bat to lead off the game and would score two batters later when he and Ethan Hurwitz traded places. Senior Jay Aghanya followed with a run-scoring single to center, giving Oberlin the early 2-0 edge. 

After Brevard scratched out a single tally in the second, Oberlin would reclaim its two-run lead in the fifth on a sacrifice fly from Hurwitz before adding on three big insurance runs in the sixth of a seven-inning game. After the first two Yeomen hitters reached base, senior catcher Sean Livingstone came through with a clutch two-run single to plate David Curtin and Aghanya. Groves would then add his second hit of the game and pick up his first-career RBI with a single to center. 

First-year hurler Calvin Burkholder recorded the final six outs on the mound, allowing just two hits and one run to go along with two walks and two strikeouts. 

Oberlin doubled-up Brevard in hits in the win with 10 compared to its five. Senior Harry Kaplan matched Aghanya and Groves with a pair in the victory. 

Senior right-hander Andrew Shen turned in a gem in game two and left with a 3-1 lead after going six innings, allowing just one run while sprinkling six hits and two walks to accompany his five punchouts. 

Unfortunately, the young Yeomen could not protect the cushion as the Tornados rallied late to pull off the victory. Two walks, two errors, and a wild pitch were the undoing for sophore reliever Aden Ochstein and he would leave after getting just one out in the seventh. Rookie Micah Rodriguez would then come in and be welcomed with a big out on a caught stealing but would proceed to throw back-to-back wild pitches to allow the game-tying run to score. 

Oberlin would put runners on the corners with two outs in the eighth but could not push anything across and it turned out to be Brevard getting the clutch two-out hit the Yeomen were seeking as Logan Sawyer poked a single into left field to put the Tornados ahead for good. 

Like in game one, the Yeomen started hot by posting a pair of runs in the first inning. Groves led off the game with a single and would come around to score on Kyle Baxt's single through the left side. Aghanya later lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to score Zach Masnikoff to give Oberlin an early 2-0 advantage. 

Junior Lucas Granata led off the home half of the first inning with a solo shot for Brevard, but Shen settled in and kept them scoreless over the next five innings. 

Groves delivered an RBI double in the fifth to make a 3-1 Oberlin lead but the Yeomen would strand six runners on base over the last four innings to give Brevard the opportunity for the comeback.

The teams will settle the series tomorrow morning with a rubber match set for 11 a.m.