University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Winthrop
Baseball Falls in 10 Innings to Winthrop, 13-12
05.16.2008 | Baseball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Winthrop Head Coach Joe Hudak earned his 800th career win Friday night as the Eagles outlasted UNC Asheville 13-12 in 10 innings in a wild Big South Conference contest Friday night at McCormick Field.
Winthrop scored the winning run in the top of the 10th inning on a RBI-single from Kevin Nolan as the Eagles blew two five-run leads and a three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning,
Asheville tied the game with a dramatic home run from Elliott Arrington. The Bulldogs trailed 12-9 entering the bottom of the ninth. The home team got three straight singles to load the bases for Arrington. However, before Arrington could bat, Winthrop reliever Ryan Mullins picked off Justin Schumer at first for the second out of the inning.
Two pitches later, Arrington hit his fifth homer of the year, to knot the game at 12-12.
But Winthrop took the lead for good in the top of the 10th inning. John Murrian walked to open the inning off Schumer (0-5). A sacrifice bunt from Tyler McBride moved Murrian to second. Two batters later, Nolan singled to center field to score Murrian with the winning run.
Mullins (6-2) was able to get the Bulldogs out in the bottom of the 10th to earn the win.
The Eagles (23-31, 10-9 BSC) had nine doubles in the game as first baseman Eddie Tisdale tied a school record with three doubles. He finished the game 3-for-6 with three RBI. Third baseman Bryn Henderson went 2-for-5 with four RBI. Henderson connected on a two-run homer in the sixth inning.
UNC Asheville (22-32, 5-14 BSC) had 20 hits in the game. Danny Baatz went 4-for-5 with a double. Arrington finished 3-for-6 with four RBI. Kevin Mattison went 3-for-4 with four runs scored, two RBI and a home run.
The Bulldogs led 3-2 after four innings but Winthrop got three runs in the fifth and sixth innings off Alan DeRatt to lead 8-3. Asheville rallied with three runs in the bottom of the seventh to cut the lead to 8-6 before the Eagles picked up three more runs in the eighth to pad the lead to 11-6.
However, the Bulldogs came back again in the bottom of the eighth, sending nine men to the plate to narrow the lead to 11-9.
A run-scoring double from Billy Froehlich gave Winthrop a 12-9 lead in the ninth before the Bulldogs tied it up in the bottom of the night on Arrington's home run.
UNC Asheville takes on Winthrop Saturday afternoon starting at 5 p.m.
