Valentine's Day showed lots of love to TBC Eagles Baseball, who won both games at the NCCAA Division 2 Invitational on Friday to earn a bid in the championship game. The opener leaned more toward a pitchers' duel with some timely hitting that TBC won 4-2 over Southeastern Baptist College, but the nightcap was an offensive explosion that started with the game's first pitch and saw the Eagles go on to derfeat Champion Christian College 25-8.

Game 1: Eagles 4, Southeastern Baptist 2

The Eagles came back from a two-run deficit with a single run in the bottom of the third and two in the fourth to take the lead for good.

In the third, Gavin Williams drew a bases-loaded walk that allowed Dominic Gattinella to score TBC's first run. Gattinella reached on an error to start the inning and promptly stole second base. Seth Reeves followed with an infield single to the left side. TBC eventually loaded the bases to set up Williams.

The two-run rally in the fourth started with Larson Lott hitting his way aboard and stealing second. A dropped popup in right allowed Nate Nogueras to reach and Lott to take third. Seth Reeves blooped one into left to tie the score. Later with one out, pinch hitter Jack Musgrave drove a sacrifice fly to left to bring home Nogueras, and the Eagles led 3-2.

TBC got an insurance run in the fifth on Lott's base hit that scored Graham Gorman, who ran for Williams (hit by pitch). All of Trinity's runs followed SBC's two-run single from Austen Shirley in the top of the third.

The lead held up. Starter Gavin Comer gave way to Andrew Mohler in the sixth, and Mohler got the first two men out before two batters reached. Drew Billings came in, and after the Chargers loaded the bases, Billings struck out the next man to strand all three. He then pitched a scoreless seventh for his fifth save of the season.

[Gavin Comer pitched 5 very solid innings on Friday. PHOTO: Reese Couture. NCCAA]

Comer earned his second win with 5 innings, in which he allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits, 1 walk, and 6 strikeouts.

Lott and Reeves were both 2 for 3 with 1 RBI.

Game 2: Eagles 25, Champion Christian 8

Logan McGann lined the game's first pitch into left for a base hit, and it was all Eagles from there. Two batters later, Gavin Williams doubled home two runs, and Jacob Brigman followed with a RBI fielder's choice.

Trinity then scored four times in the second on RBI from Larson Lott (ground ball), Nate Nogueras (sacrifice fly), and Dominic Gattinella (ground ball) as they took advantage of some defensive miscues. Trinity led 7-0 at inning's end.

The Eagles scored two more in the third then tied a team record for runs in an inning with 11 in the fourth. Seven different players drove in runs during that frame with Gattinella doing so in both his at bats (single, ground ball). The biggest blow was a three-run double from Ryan Onkst.

Graham Gorman accounted for the Eagles' final tally when he doubled in the sixth to bring in Brigman. Gorman drove in two overall.

The offense combined for a team record 25 runs on 23 hits and 19 RBI.

Starter Blake Bandy earned the win with 4 innings pitched in which he allowed only 1 unearned run on 4 hits. He walked 1 and struck out 4. Noah Durden and Trey Rosado combined for 3 innings, 2 ER, 0 BB, and 5K.

[Blake Bandy wins Game 2 with 4 innings of 1-run ball. PHOTO: Reese Coutour, NCCAA]

Champion rallied for 2 runs in the bottom of the sixth on RBI plays from Issac Yearwood (single) and Brandon Boudreaux (ground ball). They scored 5 in the seventh on some miscues to put up the final score before Rosado induced a line drive double play to Brigman at first to end the game.

Championship Game Saturday

The Eagles will get a second chance at Arlington Baptist University when the two teams meet in the title game of the NCCAA Division 2 Invitational. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:00 EST.

The Eagles will then return home for a three-game series with NAIA New College of Florida on Friday and Saturday, February 21 and 22.

[The Eagle celebrate two wins on Friday. PHOTO: Resse Courtour, NCCAA]