University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Presbyterian
Presbyterian Downs UNC Asheville 10-7
05.15.2009 | Baseball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? Nate Horton went 3-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI to lead Presbyterian to a 10-7 win over UNC Asheville in Big South Conference action Friday afternoon at Greenwood Field.
The Bulldogs (9-41, 5-20 BSC) were led by shortstop Kevin Weidenbacher. He went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, a double and RBI. Austin Graham and Mike Vaughn each had two hits for the Bulldogs.
The Blue Hose (12-38, 6-19 BSC) took advantage of three costly Asheville errors and some timely hitting to build a 9-3 lead. The Bulldogs closed to 9-7 but could not get any closer.
The game was tied 1-1 in the third inning when PC scored two runs to take the lead for good at 3-1. Andrew Williams led off with a single and then scored on a single and error from Mack Hite to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. Hite reached third on the error an scored on a run-scoring single from Cory Lyda.
Weidenbacher doubled in the third with one out and scored on a wild pitch to cut the lead to 3-2.
But PC scored twice in the fourth to lead 5-2 and twice more in the sixth and seventh innings to push the lead to 9-3. Gabe Grammer, who would get the save, delivered a two-run single in the fourth. An error and a sacrifice fly from Williams pushed two more runs in the sixth.
Horton made it 9-3 in the seventh with a long two-run homer over the right-field wall.
Mike Vaughn hit a solo homer in the fourth for the Bulldogs. It was his seventh home run of the year and his second of the series. Wiedenbacher delivered a run-scoring hit in the seventh, and Reed Kreiser added an RBI-double in the eighth.
Asheville got to 9-6 in the eighth and had runners on second and third with one out when Gammer came in the game for starter Jesse Harmon (4-5). On two pitches, he got the Blue Hose out of the inning. He got Danny Baatz to ground out that scored Kreiser to make it 9-7 and then got Weidenbacher to fly out to deep left field.
A wild pitch scored Horton in the ninth for an insurance run. Grammer worked a scoreless ninth for his second save of the year.
Harmon picked up the victory throwing 7.1 innings allowing seven runs (five earned) on 10 hits to improve to 4-5 on the season. Carson McLean (0-2) making his first start of the year took the loss. He threw a career-high six innings. He allowed seven runs (four earned) on eight hits.
The teams will play the final game of the series and the season Saturday afternoon starting at 3 p.m.
