SARASOTA, Fl.

The Mighty Banyans baseball team picked up their first victory of the season in the second game of their 7 inning doubleheader on Thursday, February 13.

In the first game, the Eagles got off to a resounding start with a leadoff home run to left field to take a 1-0 lead. After the home run, Austin Stephenson settled down after striking out two to get out of the first inning. In the second inning, Stephenson surrendered another run in the 2nd inning after a walk and a wild pitch, but again managed to limit the damage to just 1 run.

The Banyans offense had struggles finding answers to Eagles starter Payton Casey, only managing 4 hits through the first six innings, and after a 4 run 4th inning by the Eagles, that lead seemed to be insurmountable and for the first game it would be, the Eagles led the game 8-0 going into the final frame.

The Banyans did their best to fight back in the seventh inning with a Rylan Jomisko 2 run home run. In the 7th the Banyans mustered 2 runs and were two batters away from getting the tying run to the plate, but it would not be enough, the Banyans fell in Game 1 8-2.

The second game showed the Eagles soaring early again with an RBI double to take another 1-0 first inning lead. The Eagles would send 7 people to the plate in that first inning and load the bases, but would only scratch across the one run.

Anthony Griffith was able to get through the first two innings with no more damage, however, in the third inning, after getting the first two guys to fly out and ground out, the Banyans' defense would hurt them with a costly error. This set the table for the Eagles to score two more runs in that inning.

Griffith finished his day with 2.2 innings pitched, 2 strikeouts, and 2 earned runs, he was to be relieved by Corbin Gilmore who came into a bases loaded 2 out jam in the 3rd inning and got the big strikeout he needed to hold the deficit to 3.

The bottom half of the 3rd inning was met with the fireworks the fans were eager to cheer for, and those fireworks came off the bat of Fernando Rivera Calderon with a 2 run moonshot over the left field fence. The deficit was now 1.

Gilmore pitched a masterclass in the heart of the game, throwing 4.1 shutout innings with 7 punch outs which kept the Banyans in it just long enough to get their big game tying hit from Brecken Fair in the 6th inning.

After being deadlocked in the seventh, the game went to extra innings where the Eagles got a runner in scoring position off of pitcher Matthew McGregor, who found his way out of trouble with a groundout and a fly out in the heart of the Eagles' lineup, setting the table for the Banyans in the bottom of the 8th.

After a Brecken Fair single, Dom Fernandez hit by pitch, and a Landen Morrison walk, the Banyans had the bases loaded with one out as the Eagles went for a pitching change. That change would be costly, as the first pitch thrown went to the backstop and allowed Brecken Fair to score the winning run. The Banyans came out on top 4-3.

The Banyans will play another doubleheader Friday February 14 starting at 12 o'clock at Babe Ruth Park in Sarasota.