The Buena Vista baseball team jumped out to an early 8-0 lead and held off a Wesleyan University rally on Thursday afternoon as the Beavers began their 2018 Spring Break trip with a 15-10 victory.

After hitting under .200 as a team over the first five games of the year, the bats came to life in a big way for the Beavers, who chalked up a season-high 18 base knocks.  Sophomore Bryce Rheault helped lead that charge with a 5-for-6 effort, including a pair of doubles, to go along with three RBI and two runs scored.  Tyler Tennyson followed with four hits and three runs scored with Coleman Roberts and Peyton Renning each recording three hits.  Roberts also drove in three and scored twice.

Rheault singled twice in the first inning with the second resulting in two runs. Renning also singled twice and drove in one in the frame as the Beavers built a quick 7-0 lead.  After a run in the second made it an eight-run advantage, the team then saw its opponents come storming back in the fourth with seven runs to get back within a run.

Both teams scored twice in the fifth with BVU going in front 13-19 with three key runs in the sixth, including a big RBI triple from Roberts to start the scoring.

Wesleyan (4-1) made it 13-10 before the Beavers closed the book with the final two runs in the ninth.

Andrew Bower came on in relief to pitch three innings, allowing just a run on three hits while striking out two, as the Beavers gave head coach Steve Eddie his 398th career victory.

Buena Vista is now 1-5 on the year and will take on Macalester College on Friday morning at 10:00am.