University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Charleston Southern
Ninth Inning Magic Leads Bulldogs Past Charleston Southern, 5-4
05.16.2010 | Baseball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Freshman second baseman Robert McIntosh drove in four runs, including the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth inning as UNC Asheville edged Charleston Southern, 5-4 in Big South Conference baseball action Sunday afternoon at McCormick Field.
McIntosh went 4-for-5 from the plate with a three-run double in the first inning. Danny Baatz added three hits and scored two runs for the Bulldogs as they completed a three-game sweep over the Buccaneers. It was Asheville's first sweep of CSU since the 1992 season.
The hard-luck Buccaneers (17-34, 6-17 BSC) lost the last two games of the series by one run in the bottom of the ninth inning to the Bulldogs (15-32, 8-16 BSC). Nick Chinners led the CSU attack at the place with a 4-for-5 performance and RBI. Starter Andrew White (1-6) went the whole way for the Bucs. He recovered from a four-run first inning to pitch his second complete game of the season. White struck out seven and scattered 11 hits.
Reliever David Ricker (2-4) earned the win for the Bulldogs by pitching out of trouble in both the eighth and ninth innings. He struck out Chinners to end the ninth with runners on first and second.
In the bottom of the ninth, White got the first two hitters out before Baatz doubled. Asheville's leading hitter Justin Schumer was walked intentionally to put runners on first and second. Mike Vaughn then walked on four pitches to load the bases.
That brought up McIntosh. He looked at a ball and then took two strikes. On a 1-2 pitch, he lined the ball into center-field to score Baatz with the winning run and a Bulldog victory.
CSU opened the scoring in the first inning. Brantley Meier opened the game with a double. One out later, Chinners doubled him in for a 1-0 Buccaneers lead.
Asheville answered back with four runs in the bottom of the first. With one out, Baatz reached on an infield single. White then issued walks to Schumer and Vaughn to load the bases.
McIntosh then doubled to right-field, scoring three runs to put the Bulldogs in front, 3-1. McIntosh scored on a throwing error by shortstop Branden McKinney on a Beau Zinman grounder to give Asheville a 4-1 advantage.
CSU got a run back in the fourth. Chinners led off with a single. A walk to Tim Burkett put runners on first and second. Jesse Cadenhead's sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third. Harrison Wilkins' RBI-groundout cut the lead to 4-2.
The visitors manufactured another run in the fifth to close to 4-3. Kyle Ward led off with a single. He went to second on a wild pitch. A groundout from Meier scored Ward.
The game was delayed for 38 minutes in the bottom of the fifth inning due to rain and lighting.
Asheville starter Grier Harrington did a good job escaping out of trouble throughout his seven innings of work. He allowed just five hits, three runs, walked four and struck out five.
The visitors tied the game at 4-4 in the eighth. Chinners led off with a single, his fourth hit of the game, and went to second on a walk. He moved to third on a fly ball and then scored on pinch-hitter Derek Smith's groundout. CSU scored its final three runs of the game on groundouts to second base.
UNC Asheville returns to action Tuesday evening at SEC foe Tennessee starting at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs finish the regular season up with a crucial three-game Big South Conference series against Gardner-Webb at McCormick Field starting Thursday (May 20) at 1 p.m. Charleston Southern hosts UNC Wilmington on Tuesday before ending the regular-season with a three-game series against Big South foe High Point at home starting on Thursday.
