University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
High Point
Seniors Lead Asheville Past High Point in First Game of Big South Tournament
05.20.2008 | Baseball
DANVILLE, Va.? Elliott Arrington singled home Kevin Mattison in the 10th inning and Alan DeRatt threw a complete game for his eighth victory of the season as UNC Asheville eliminated High Point for the third straight season 3-2 in 10 innings on Tuesday night in the Big South Tournament.
DeRatt pitched in and out of trouble allowing two runs (one earned) while scattering 10 hits to improve to 8-2 on the season. He threw 116 pitches and is the first UNC Asheville (24-33) pitcher to throw a complete game of more than nine innings since 1992. Catlin Carter drew a walk to lead off the tenth inning. Kevin Mattison singled to place runners at first and third. Kevin Weidenbacher hit into a fielder's choice as Carter was thrown out at the plate. After a strikeout, Arrington delivered his 296th career hit to centerfield to plate Mattison with the game winner. The Bulldogs opened the scoring in the third inning, Beau Zinman walked in front of a base hit by Mike Vaughn. The ball got passed the High Point (20-33) outfielder allowing Zinman to score all the way from first base. In the fourth, another lead off walk this time to Justin Schumer got a rally started. After a single by Arrington who went 2-for-4, Reed Kreiser sacrificed the runners to second and third. Danny Baatz lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to score Schumer and give Asheville a 2-0 lead. High Point got a run back in the in the fifth. Alfie Wheeler and Jeff Cowan had back-to-back singles with one out. With two out, Randy Schwartz singled home Wheeler but was thorwn out at second base to end the inning. In the eighth, Pablo Rosario walked to lead off and scored after a single by Schwartz got passed the Asheville outfield placing Schwartz at second with no one out. A failed sacrifice attempt and a double play got DeRatt out of the inning with the score tied at 2-2. Bubba O'Donnell (4-4) suffered the loss throwing 3.1 innings allowing just one run on two hits. Asheville has gotten a complete game victory from its starting pitcher in the first game of the Big South Tournament each of the past three seasons. DeRatt shutout Birmingham-Southern 3-0 in 2006. Graham Baughn shutout Charleston Southern 3-0 in 2007. The Bulldogs have ended High Point's season each of the past three seasons after High Point won the regular season series all three years. Asheville becomes the second eight seed to win a Big South tournament game and the first to do it under the current format. The Bulldogs will face top seeded Coastal Carolina at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. The game can be heard free of charge on uncabulldogs.com and can be seen for a fee on bigsouthsports.com.
