HAMPTON - It wasn't without a flair for the dramatic. The Apprentice School baseball team took down MACU in a Wednesday doubleheader to open the 2026 season, walking off the first game before holding on for a one-run win in the nightcap.
GAME 1 - AS 10, MACU 7
MACU got the offense going early and often, scoring a pair in the top of the first off a pair of extra base hits before the Builders got one back on a
Seth Harrison RBI double that scored
Nate Yeary. The Mustangs responded with a single run in the second before three more in the third to take a 6-1 lead.
Apprentice worked their way back a little in the fourth, scoring a pair of runs off a
Jaeden Anderson double and a
Baker Green single to trim the lead down. After MACU scored their final run of the game in the fifth, the Builders got one back in the sixth on a
Justin Bradshaw double before the bottom of the seventh.
The Builders took advantage of a pair of Mustang errors in the final frame to get the first run across to cut the lead to 7-6. After Bradshaw singled up the middle to tie the game, Anderson stepped up to the plate and blasted the game winning bomb over the left field fence to complete the comeback.
Charley Higginbotham (1-0) got the win in relief, allowing just one run off four hits in four innings out of the bullpen. Bradshaw was 3-for-3, while Anderson was 2-for-4. Green finished the game 2-for-3.
GAME 2 - AS 4, MACU 3
In the second game of the day, the Builders got the offense going quickly, taking advantage of shaky pitching out of the gate to score three runs off four walks, two wild pitches and a Bradshaw double to take an early 3-0 lead. The Mustangs settled in, holding the Builders scoreless until the fourth when Yeary scratched the fourth run of the game across on a RBI groundout.
MACU kept fighting, scoring three runs in the fifth to put a scare into the home team, but Apprentice shut the door in the final two frames to earn the opening day sweep.
Nick Redman (1-0) earned the win, going 4.2 innings and fanning six.
Brayden Hayes earned his first save of the season, finishing the final 2.1 innings and striking out four.
The Builders will be back in action Saturday at home against Southern Virginia. First pitch of the twinbill is set for 12 p.m.
