Baseball comes back to beat Orange 10-5

The Berkshire Badgers used a big late-inning surge to pull away from Orange, earning a 10-5 win in a game that featured timely hitting and a strong response after falling behind early.

Berkshire struck first in the opening inning thanks to a highlight moment from Patrick Brancel, who raced around the bases for an inside-the-park home run to give the Badgers a 1-0 lead. Orange answered in the third, capitalizing on a pair of errors to take a 2-1 advantage.

The Badgers evened things up in the fourth inning when Bear Masink delivered an RBI single to score P. Brancel, tying the game at 2-2. Orange regained control in the fifth, pushing across two runs to build a 4-2 lead and put Berkshire on its heels midway through the game.

That’s when the momentum shifted.

In the top of the sixth, Berkshire’s offense came alive in a big way. The Badgers strung together a series of hits, aggressive baserunning, and took advantage of defensive miscues to plate seven runs in the inning. Nolan Morris and Chase Bajzel each drove in runs, while Sam Barcikoski added an RBI single as part of the rally. P. Brancel contributed with a sacrifice fly, and Holden Hedrick added another run on a fielder’s choice as Berkshire surged ahead 9-4.

Berkshire added one more insurance run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Hedrick, extending the lead to 10-4.

On the mound, the Badgers got key contributions throughout the game. Evan Pollock started and kept Orange in check early with multiple strikeouts, while Paden Brent and Oliver Miller combined in relief to close things out. Brent worked out of a sixth-inning jam, and Miller finished the game despite Orange scoring once in the final frame.

Offensively, Berkshire was led by a balanced attack, with multiple players recording hits during the decisive sixth inning.