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| Nate Gardner hit a home run and drove in three in the Bishops win over visting Elmira. North Carolina athletics photo |
NC Wesleyan showed no rust as they blasted Elmira 14-5 in a short set of games on Thursday. Greenville swept Knox 4-1, 6-3 to take a pair and Emory fell behind early but made the middle innings count in a 11-4 win over Washington and Lee. Augustana made it three wins in a row over Bates with a 10-3 win in their four-game four-day series in Central Florida.
NC Wesleyan 14, Elmira 5
An offensive explosion by the rested NC Wesleyan College baseball team led to a 14-5 non-conference win over D-3 Elmira College (N.Y.) on Thursday afternoon.
After not being in action for 11 days, the Wesleyan offense did not seem to be affected as they recorded 11 hits, five extra base hits and two home runs in the big win.
Senior DH Nate Gardner and senior LF Logan Andrews led the Bishops with home runs while each driving in three runs. Andrews also led Wesleyan with 3 hits on the afternoon as seven different Bishops knocked hits on the day. Andrews finished with 7 total bases on the day and fell a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.
A three-run third inning and a big 7-run fifth inning helped lead the Bishops to victory as they sent 10 men to the plate. Senior CF Cedrick Kornegay also had a multi-hit game with a double and reached base four times with his 2 walks and drove in a run while senior catcher Brandon Wheat also drove in two runs with his early two-run double. Junior 3B Trey Posilero recorded a two-run single as well in the win. Freshman shortstop Andrew Nichols also stole three bases on the day as well.
On the mound, freshman Grant Bartlett threw three innings recording 2 strikeouts and allowed just a hit and a run. Wesleyan then had 4 pitchers throw one shutout inning apiece with junior Connor Stratton picking up the victory with 2 Ks in his one inning while junior reliever Noah Shrock struck out the side in the ninth.
Wesleyan improves to 3-1 on the season with the win and will prepare to host conference foe LaGrange College (Ga.) on Sunday and Monday in a rain-delayed series. Official game times to be announced over the weekend.
Emory 11, Washington and Lee 4
The Emory University Baseball team took game one of the weekend series from Washington and Lee University Thursday afternoon, defeating the Generals, 11-4, at Chappell Park in Atlanta.
The Eagles did all of their damage in the third through seventh innings, scoring in all five frames including three-run spots in the fourth, fifth and seventh. Three different hitters registered at least three hits or more with six Eagles driving in at least one run.
Sophomore Michael Edelman had a career day at the plate, recording his first four-hit game of career and falling a home run shy of the cycle. Edelman went 4-for-4 in the win, scoring twice, plating one run and added a stolen base.
Juniors Ryan Adelman and Jacob Greene each had three hits in the contest with Adelman going 3-for-4 with a game-high three runs while driving in two. Greene went 3-for-3, also crossed home plate three times to go along with a double and his first two bases of the season.
Junior Richard Brereton was credited with the win, his first of the year, as he earned a quality start. Brereton allowed three runs total (2 ER) on five hits while striking out three and walking just one. Senior Sam Brzowski and freshman Joey Bock tossed a scoreless inning of relief while senior Brian Taggett struck out the side in his first appearance of the year, allowing one run on three hits.
Emory and Washington and Lee will continue their weekend set on Friday with game two scheduled for a 2:00 PM start. Please check emoryathletics.com for any potential weather related changes.
Greenville 4-6, Knox 1-3
Greenville swept a pair of games against Knox on Thursday when they opened the "home" portion of their schedule with games at SIU Edwardsville. The Panthers won game one 4-1 before winning the second game 6-3.
Greenville received a top notch pitching performance from Adam Lamb in game one as he went six innings, limiting Knox to one run. Austin Rexroad closed the game with a scoreless inning.
The Panthers took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as they set the tone early. In Greenville's first inning, Sam Hodges delivered a two run double, and Jacob Torbeck provided an RBI ground out.
Greenville added another run in the fifth inning, courtesy of an RBI groundout by Klaiton Wolff, and Knox got their run on a wild pitch in the top of the sixth.
Matthew Schroeder provided Greenville with two hits from the number two slot in the lineup.
In game two, Greenville fell behind 1-0 in the top of second, but they tied it in the bottom of the second on an RBI double by Joe Wood. In the third inning, Greenville took a 2-1 lead on an RBI double by Wolff.
Knox regained the lead with two runs in the top of the fourth, and Greenville responded with four runs in the bottom of the fifth.
Greenville got its four runs in the fifth when Wolff was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, followed by a two-run single by Hodges. Torbeck also added a sacrifice fly.
Logan Murphy gained the pitching win with a scoreless inning of relief. He followed Sam Alender who permitted three runs in four innings. Wolff earned the save with two scoreless innings to close the game.
Augustana 10, Bates 3
Bates got to Augustana starter Chris Refka for a run each in the first and second. Christian Beal led off the game with a double to left center and came around to score on Dan Trulli's single to center. In the second, Refka hit leadoff hitter Pat Beaton and Leo Watson followed with an RBI triple to make it 2-0 Bobcats.
The Vikings tied it in the bottom of the third. Will Troia led off with a double to center and one out later, scored on a wild pitch. Bates starter Peter Schuldt walked freshman Josh Barker, who moved to second on Tyler Nunez's single to center. Barker was cut down at the plate on a Gunnar Haskins double, but a wild pitch with Jake Huber at the plate allowed Nunez to score the tying run.
Wallace's crew took the lead with four in the fourth. Ryan Grannemann's leadoff single got things started. Barker had a two-run single and Nunez doubled in a pair.
Refka settled in and put up four straight goose eggs before the Bobcats touched him for a run in the top of the seventh. Jon Lindgren doubled with one out and scored on Andrew Chi's single to left to cut the deficit to 6-3.
Augustana put the game away with two runs each in the seventh and eighth. Huber had a solo homer in the seventh and Mitchell Owens walked and scored on a Sam Beyer single. In the eighth, Barker walked and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Owens' sacrifice fly to center plated Nunez with the game's final run.
Senior Vince O'Meara set Bates down in the top of the ninth to complete two scoreless innings of relief.
The top of the order sparked the Vikings all day. Barker and Nunez, hitting in the leadoff and second slots respectively, combined to reach base in eight of 10 plate appearances. Barker was 1-for-2 with three walks. He scored twice and knocked in a pair. Nunez finish 3-for-4 with two scored and two driven in. Granneman added two hits and scored twice.
Refka (1-0) allowed eight hits and three runs in seven innings. He walked two and fanned three to earn the victory. Schuldt (0-1) absorbed the loss for the Bobcats.