DAVENPORT, Fla. (Mar. 4, 2025) - The Buena Vista baseball team scored seven times in the bottom of the fifth inning and held off a ninth-inning rally by Marian en route to a 7-4 victory over the Sabres on Tuesday morning.

Marian loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth inning and broke a scoreless tie after plating the game's first run on a hit-by-pitch. BVU was able to limit any further damage in the inning as starter Zach Pleggenkule got a fly out to end the threat.

The Beavers stranded three runners over the first four innings, but the bats came through with the clutch hits in the fifth. Senior Jaxon Van Pelt began the rally by leading off the inning with a single and later scored on a throwing error by the Sabres pitcher on a bunt attempt. Later in the inning, senior Joel Garcia continued his torrid start to the year by driving in a run on a double that put BVU in front for the first time at 2-1. Following a pitching change later in the frame, the Beavers strung together four straight singles, including a two-run poke from junior Jacob Eversole that made it 6-1. The team capped the scoring with two outs when Kaden Struck scored on a passed ball.

Pleggenkule allowed just the one run and one hit over the first four innings while striking out five. Sophomore Drew Camman then came on to begin the fifth and surrendered only two hits and struck out three in his four innings to notch his second career victory. BVU took the 7-1 cushion to the ninth before the Sabres rallied against sophomore Koleson Evans. A pair of hit by pitches and a walk loaded the bases with one out before Marian pushed a run across on a third wild pitch. That was followed by a two-run double that made it 7-4. Evans induced a ground out for the second out but then issued two more walks to load the bases with two outs but was able to get a ground ball to third, and Drew Taylor stepped on the bag to end the game.

Drew Taylor doubled twice in the game and finished 3-for-5 overall with an RBI and one run scored. Struck and Eversole each went 2-for-4 as the first seven batters in the Beaver line-up accounted for seven of the team's 12 hits in the contest. The team continues to find the gaps with the bat as it added five more extra-base hits and now has 27 through the first six games.

The Sabres (3-2) were held to only four hits, and two of those came from third baseman Logan Rademan.

Buena Vista has now won four straight games and improves to 5-1 on the year. Next up is a game against Grove City College on Wednesday, Mar. 5, at 12 p.m. ET.