BRCC Bears comeback falls short against SMCC Bears at UNO

Monday, February 23, 2026: Baseball

New Orleans, LA

The Baton Rouge Bears faced off against the Southwest Mississippi Bears for the second time this season at Maestri Field on the campus of the University of New Orleans. The Bears were seeking revenge for an earlier loss to Southwest Mississippi. Despite a strong comeback attempt, Baton Rouge fell short, losing the game 10-7.

Southwest got on the board first, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning to take an early lead over Baton Rouge. They capitalized on inconsistent pitching and fielding errors by the Bears, establishing a 4-0 advantage. SMCC added to their lead in the second inning with a home run by T. Moore, pushing the score to 5-0.

Baton Rouge finally scored in the bottom of the second inning when Cooper Martin hit a home run to right field, making the score 5-1. Southwest continued to dominate, plating three more runs in the top of the fourth inning, extending their lead to 8-1.

In the bottom of the third, the Bears rallied by scoring two runs, but still trailed 8-3. Ayden Washington started the inning with a walk, followed by Gabriel McKee's single to right field. Kenneth Berard walked to load the bases, and Brayden Bertucci hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Washington. Hudson Heltz was hit by a pitch, reloading the bases for the Bears, and then Cooper Martin was also hit by a pitch, allowing McKee to score their second run of the inning.

Southwest added an insurance run in the top of the fourth, bringing the score to 9-3.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Bears took advantage of Southwest's shaky pitching to score three runs, closing the gap to 9-6. With the bases loaded from walks issued to Bertucci, Trent Laporte, and Jayden Jackson, Keegan Kelsey drew another walk to score Bertucci. Mason Leblanc then walked to bring in Laporte for the second run, and Aiden Washington walked to drive in Jackson for the third run of the inning.

Southwest managed to score their final run of the game in the top of the eighth, extending their lead to 10-6. In the bottom of the eighth, the Bears scored another run when Brayden Bertucci, who reached base on a walk, scored on a wild pitch. After eight innings, Baton Rouge trailed 10-7.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Bears had two runners on base but were unable to drive them home, resulting in a 10-7 loss to the Southwest Mississippi Bears.

Kolh Navarre started on the mound for the Bears and took the loss, pitching two innings while allowing seven runs (five earned) on two hits, with two walks and one strikeout. Grayson Davis, Scott Recile, Kyle Stansbury, Evan McDaniel, Jayse Degruy, and Jack Conravey all contributed in relief for the Bears. Starting pitcher Ayden for Southwest earned the victory, pitching 2.2 innings with three runs allowed on three hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. D. Nelson, C. Case, T. Miller, N. Carney, I. Edwards, and T. Boyd all pitched in relief for Southwest.

Southwest out-hit Baton Rouge 16-5, and while SMCC recorded one error, BRCC committed four.

Bears Highlights:

- Gabriel McKee: 2 for 6, 1 run 

- Kenneth Berard: 1 for 4, 1 BB 

- Brayden Bertucci: 2 runs, 1 RBI, 2 BB 

- Trent Laporte: 1 run, 2 BB 

- Cooper Martin: 1 for 1, 2 RBIs, 1 home run, 1 HBP 

- Jayden Jackson: 1 run 

- Keegan Kelsey: 1 RBI, 1 BB 

- Mason LeBlanc: 1 BB, 1 RBI 

- Aiden Washington: 1 for 1, 1 run, 1 RBI, 3 BB 

With this loss, the BRCC Bears fell to 0-16 for the season, while the SMCC Bears improved to 11-3. Despite the loss, Baton Rouge still leads the all-time series against Southwest Mississippi with 27 wins to 18 losses.

Up Next:

Baton Rouge will travel to Panama City, Florida, this weekend to start a three-game series with the Gulf State College Commodores from Friday, February 27 to Saturday, February 28, at Frazier Field.

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