University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Winthrop
Mattison Leads Bulldogs Past Winthrop 10-8
05.18.2008 | Baseball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - UNC Asheville scored eight runs in the first inning and ended the regular season on a winning note as the Bulldogs defeated Big South Conference rival Winthrop 10-8 at McCormick Field Sunday afternoon.
The Bulldogs(23-33, 6-15 BSC) were led at the plate by Kevin Mattison as he went 3-for-5 with three runs scored.
Winthrop (24-32, 11-10 BSC) had 15 hits in the game. Bryn Henderson went 4-for-4 from the plate and drove in four runs.
Senior right-hander Ben Buchanan (1-8) recorded his first victory of the season by pitching four strong innings. Justin Schumer pitched the final two innings to earn his eighth save of the year, tying a single-season record at UNC Asheville, also held by Seth Denton in the 2003 season.
The Bulldogs will be the eighth seed in the upcoming Big South Conference Tournament starting on Tuesday. Asheville takes on fifth-seeded High Point on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The tournament will be held in Danville, Va.
The Eagles scored two runs in the first inning to grab a 2-0 lead before Asheville sent 12 batters to the plate. Mattison led off with an infield single and scored on Kevin Weidenbacher's run-scoring double to cut the lead to 2-1. A walk and single loaded the bases with nobody out.
Two wild pitches from starter Dave Carbonell (0-3) gave the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead. A passed ball scored another run giving Asheville a 4-2 advantage. A double from Beau Zinman scored one run to pad the lead to 5-2. Mattison's two-run triple pushed the margin to 7-2. Mattison scored the final run of the inning on a run-scoring single from Wiedenbacher.
Winthrop scored an unearned run in the third inning to cut the lead to 8-3 on a sacrifice fly from Bryn Henderson. Asheville got the run back in the fourth on a RBI-double from Schumer.
The Eagles used home run power to get back in the game. A two-run homer from John Murrian in the sixth cut the lead to 9-5. In the seventh inning, solo homers from Henderson and Eddie Rohan carved the lead to 9-7.
Asheville got an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh on Zinman's RBI-double.
The Eagles had a shot to get even closer in the eighth inning but thanks to some clutch pitching from Schumer and a great throw from Mattison, Winthrop only scored once to cut the lead to 10-8. The Eagles loaded the bases with nobody out off reliever Taylor Wohlwend. Schumer replaced Wohlwend and struck out Billy Froehlich for the first out of the inning. Henderson singled to center to score one run but a great throw from Mattison, nailed Kevin Nolan out for the second out of the inning. Schumer got Rohan out for the final out of the inning.
