Jacob Brigman was stellar on the mound, and Cooper Scruggs starred at the plate as TCJ Eagles Baseball defeated the rival Bruins of Bob Jones University 7-6 in a Friday night South Region series opener. Trinity built a 7-1 lead after eight, but the Bruins fought back for 5 in the ninth before Drew Billings shut the door.

Brigman worked 7 very solid innings, allowing just 1 run on 6 hits while walking 1 and striking out 10. He fanned the leadoff hitter four times, including in the first three innings, and induced weak contact from most of the 9 batters (out of 26 faced) who put the ball in play. 

[Jacob Brigman notched his first win of the season on Friday.]

Scruggs was 2 for 3 with 2 walks, 2 runs scored and 1 driven in. He was key in a two-run seventh-inning rally with a double to center that brought in Gavin Williams (single, stolen base) and put Gadriel Burgos (walk) on third. Burgos then crossed the plate on Tyson LaChapell's infield single to third to give the Eagles some extra insurance they ended up needing.

[Cooper Scruggs: 2 for 3, 2 BB, RBI, 2R in Friday's series opener]

After Bob Jones took a 1-0 lead on Preston Cox's solo home run in the top of the second, Scruggs double to lead off the bottom half. Dawson Harrelson moved Sruggs to third with a hard line drive single then stole second. The throw to get Harrelson sailed into center and allowed Scruggs to cross and tie the score. Later in the inning, Williams blooped a two-out, two-run single to right to drive in Harrelson and Darren Goeke, Jr. (pinch runner) to give the Eagles a 3-1 lead. 

Trinity added two more in the sixth by drawing consecutive walks (Scruggs, Harrleson) and using small ball to bring them around. LaChapppell's bunt single loaded the bases, and Seth Reeves was hit by a pitch to bring in Scruggs. Goeke's ground ball allowed Harrelson to come in, but the Bruins turned two on the play then got a strikeout to keep the inning from getting out of hand. 

The Bruins took advantage of three ninth-inning errors, two hits, and two hit batsman (one with the bases loaded) to score 5 unearned runs. Henry Rumble's two-run double and Evan Johnson's RBI single were the big blows. Billings then entered and, after his first two batters reached, struck out the final man to end the game. 

Williams, the reigning Offensive Player of the Week, was 2 for 4 with 1 run and 2 RBI, and LaChapell was 2 for 4 with a run scored to highlight the Eagles' offense. 

These two teams will play twice on Saturday, beginning at 12:00 noon. South Region newcomer Baptist University of Florida then visits Eagles Field for a double-header on February 13 (2:00 p.m.) and a single game on Valentine's Day (11:00 a.m.). Then, the Eagles travel to Arlington, Texas, for the NCCAA Division 2 Invitational Tournament, where they will compete with three other top-rated teams from around the county in Arlington Baptist University, Champion Christian College, and Randall University from February 19-21.