another big weekend of big south play. here are friday's results and game wrap-ups.
UNC Asheville, Liberty, High Point and Winthrop Win On Diamond Friday
Courtesy: Big South SIDs
Release: 04/07/2006
UNC Asheville 9, Charleston Southern 2
Chris Nigro pitched seven strong innings and UNC Asheville took advantage of five Charleston Southern errors as the Bulldogs defeated the Buccaneers 9-2 in Big South baseball action at Greenwood Field on Friday. Asheville (14-16, 4-3 Big South) got on the board in the bottom of the first inning when Nathan Durham's line drive to left field was dropped by Justin Fyle. The two base error allowed Steve Burnish to score from second base. Charleston Southern (11-24, 5-8 Big South) answered in the second. Chris Krogmeier reached on a fielder's choice and was balked to second base. He would score on a RBI single by Sean Doherty to tie the game. In the bottom of the inning, John Whited, who went 2-for-4, singled to lead off. After a walk to Brett Robinson and a failed sacrifice attempt, Matt Henson singled through the right side to score Whited and put Asheville up 2-1. The Bulldogs made it 5-1 with three runs in the fourth. Robinson walked in front of a single by Rob Vernon. Henson sacrificed the runners to second and third. A wild pitch scored Robinson. Kevin Mattison delivered a RBI-double to score Vernon and came around to score on a RBI groundout by Elliott Arrington. CSU added a run in the top of the fifth. Wes Brundridge delivered a one out single and scored on a RBI-double by Fyle to make the score 5-2. Asheville put up another three spot in the bottom of the inning. Durham led off with a double down the left field line. Kyle Smith's single put runners at first and third. After a fielder's choice erased Durham, Robinson singled to right field to score Smith. The ball was kicked in right by Brundridge that allowed both runners to move up a base. Brudridge's throw to the infield then got away to allow Whited to cross the plate. Vernon then delivered a double to score Robinson to make the score 8-2. The Bulldogs added an insurance run in the seventh. Back-to-back doubles by Smith and Whited gave Nigro (3-5) all the run support he would need. Nigro threw seven innings giving up two earned runs on eight hits. He struck out five and walked two batters. Chris White threw 2.1 allowing three hits and fanning three. Jordan Dorsett recorded the last out in the ninth inning. Mike Mead took the loss for CSU to drop to 0-3. Smith, Whited, Robinson, and Vernon, the five through eight hitters in the Bulldog lineup, combined to go 7-for-14 with three RBI and seven runs scored. The two teams will play again at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Michael Bogaert is expected to pitch for UNC Asheville against Ryan Stowers for Charleston Southern. The game can be heard live at uncabulldogs.com.
High Point 5, VMI 1
Sophomore righthander Eammon Portice continued his string of strong performances in Big South play pitching the High Point Panthers to a 5-1 victory over the VMI Keydets in the series opener between the pair on Friday at Erath Field. Portice, who improved to 4-4 overall and 3-0 in conference action, allowed just four hits and only one run in 6.2 innings of work. He also gave up just one walk while striking out a season best nine hitters en route to the victory. The win, HPU’s eighth in its last nine games, moves the Panthers to 7-3 in Big South action and 16-20 overall. VMI drops its fifth straight game to slip to 2-5 in conference play and 20-11 on the year. The seven Big South victories is the most for High Point since recording nine in 2002. In addition to Portice’s day on the hill, HPU also got 2.1 innings of perfect relief from the combination of Glenn Jones, Brandon Moore and Bubba O’Donnell to close out the win. O’Donnell struck out a pair on the way to his team-leading fifth save this year. At the plate, High Point’s top six batters in the lineup all recorded hits with first baseman Randy Schwartz leading the way with a 3-for-3 performance. Chris Norwood, Mark Shorey and Billy Aguiar each recorded a pair of hits on the afternoon. Schwartz and freshman Jeff Cowan both reached base to extend their season long hit streaks to nine games apiece. The Panthers got on the board in the bottom of the first as designated hitter Chris Marks singled to drive in Norwood from third. HPU pushed the lead to 5-0 with four runs in the second. Schwartz singled and stole second. Ryan Laboy walked and Alfie Wheeler was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out. Cowan singled in Schwartz and a throwing error on the relay allowed Laboy to score and advance the runners one base. Norwood grounded out but scored Wheeler and then Shorey doubled in Cowan to conclude the scoring in the frame. With the bases loaded and one out in the fourth, Portice induced a pop-out and fly-out to escape without allowing a run. He then set down the next six VMI batters he faced including four strikeouts. In the top of the seventh, B.T. Good led off with a single and moved to third on a single up the middle by Klint Reed. Good scored the Keydets lone run of the game as A.J. Yoder grounded into a double-play. Travis Smink (5-1) took the loss for VMI after working five-innings allowing nine hits and giving up all five HPU runs. Corey Bachman and Richard Litwin combined to hold High Point scoreless over the final three innings. High Point and VMI are slated to play game two of their three-game set on Saturday at 1 p.m. The series finale is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. Forecasts call for strong chances of heavy rain throughout the day on Saturday, which could force the pair to play a series-ending doubleheader on Sunday. The HPU website (
www.highpointpanthers.com) will keep fans up-to-date on the status of Saturday’s game as soon as information becomes available.
Liberty 16, Radford 6
Liberty collected 20 hits en route to a 16-6 Big South Conference baseball win over Radford on a blustery Friday afternoon at Dedmon Center Park. Liberty starter Michael Solbach (Woodbridge, Va.) earned the victory (6-1), allowing two runs on six hits in six innings of work. Solbach struck out six RU batters. Radford freshman starter Josh Hammonds (Herndon, Va.) took the loss to fall to 1-2. Hammonds threw 4.1 innings, allowing 11 hits and five runs while striking out seven Liberty batters. Liberty (23-8; 4-3 Big South) scored runs in each of the first three innings to take and early lead. Michael Just’s (Woodcliff Lake, N.J.) single through the right side in the first inning scored Patrick Gaillard (Taylor’s S.C.). P.K. Keller’s (St. Petersburg, Fla.) second inning home run drove in Aaron Grijalva (Redlands, Calif.) to give Liberty a 3-0 lead. Just, Keller and Grijalva each had three hits to lead Liberty on the day. Radford countered in the bottom half of the inning on a RBI-single to right center by freshman Will Naylor (Clifton, Va.) that scored senior Aaron Ranft (Cary, N.C.). Liberty pushed the lead to 4-1 in the third when Keller’s single scored Just. After a scoreless fourth, LU picked up a single run in the fifth, again courtesy of Keller, who singled to score Grijalva. The Flames broke the game open in the sixth inning, scoring six runs on six hits. A pair of doubles, one by Phillip Laurent (Cantrall, Ill.) and one by Phil John (Linwood, N.J.) drove in four of the runs. A Just single that plated Gaillard and an Errol Hollinger (Upland, Calif.) single that scored John accounted for the other two. Freshman Jeff Cooper (Sufflok, Va.) gave Radford one of the runs back in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single that scored senior David Landman (Uniontown, Pa.). Cooper and senior Ranft each went 2-for-3 to lead RU at the plate. The Flames scored two in the eighth on a two-run homer by John that scored Abe Yeakel (Kutztown, Pa.). In all, John and Keller each had four RBI for LU. Liberty’s final three runs came in the ninth. Chad Miller (Wheat Ridge, Colo.), Tommy Bussey (Boynton Beach, Fla.) and Shawn Teufel (Tequesta, Fla.) scored respectively on a fielder’s choice by Teufel, Tim Nanry (Rochester, N.Y.) and an error. Radford (4-27; 1-9 Big South) tried to rally in the bottom of the ninth, starting with a swinging strikeout on a wild pitch that allowed Landman to reach first. A pair of walks loaded the bases and a wild pitch brought Landman home. Sophomore Nachion Moore (Chesapeake, Va.) then singled to right to score Nick Minter (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Brandon Dove (Blacksburg, Va.) and lead RU with two RBI. Another walk, this one to Jonathan Spears (Virginia Beach, Va.) brought up John Vellines (Norfolk, Va.), whose single scored Moore. However, a pitching change allowed Liberty to get the final out and end the game. The teams will play game two of the three-game series Saturday at 1:00 pm.
#23 Winthrop 8, Coastal Carolina 0
Winthrop pitcher Heath Rollins threw a complete game two hitter as the 23rd-ranked Eagles (25-8, 5-2 Big South) defeated the Coastal Carolina University baseball team (12-16, 4-3 Big South) 8-0 April 7 in Conway, S.C. The two teams went scoreless in the first two innings, but Winthrop put up a three spot in the third. Jacob Dempsey doubled with one out and scored on a single up the middle from Matt Repec. With runners on first and second after Tommy Lentz was hit by a pitch, senior Mike Valter (Bloomingdale, N.J./Briarcliffe C.C.) got Phil Carey to foul out to first. Winthrop loaded the bases on a walk to Ben Ehrlich. Eddie Tisdale then came up and hit a grounder to second. Tisdale beat the throw, allowing Repec to score and junior Adam Vrable’s (Bay City, Mich./Grand Rapids C.C.) throw was wild, scoring Lentz. The score stayed the same until the seventh, when Repec and Lentz hit back-to-back home runs, giving the Eagles a 5-0 lead. Winthrop then put up three more runs in the ninth. Tyler McBride walked to open the inning. He quickly scored as Repec hit his second home run of the game and his fifth of the season. The Eagles then brought in three pinch hitters and all three reached. Nick Bly singled, moved to third on a Mike Konstanty singled and scored on a Bryn Henderson double to center. The story of the game was Rollins. He struck out seven in the complete-game shutout. He did walk five, but allowed only two runners to reach second base. He improved his record to 5-3 on the year. Valter took the loss, but allowed only three earned runs in 6.1 innings. Valter struck out four and walked four, giving up eight hits. Vrable, with a single in the fifth, and senior Mike Fuentes (Miami, Fla./North Florida C.C.), with a single in the seventh, accounted for the only two hits of the night for the Chanticleers. Repec was 4-for-5 with four runs-batted-in and three runs scored, while Tisdale had two hits on the night. The two teams will meet again Saturday, April 8, at 6 p.m. There is severe weather scheduled for the Myrtle Beach area on Saturday. For updates on the situation of the game, please check
www.GoCCUSports.com.[/color]
- By Humble_Opinion