University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Bulldog Baseball Set to Host Western Carolina on Tuesday at McCormick Field
04.11.2011 | Baseball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The UNC Asheville baseball team will make its debut at McCormick Field Tuesday night when the Bulldogs host Western Carolina starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday's game will be video-streamed and can be seen for a small fee at www.uncabulldogs.com.
Asheville (11-20, 5-7 BSC) ended a five-game losing streak with a thrilling 2-1 victory at Winthrop Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs had lost the first two of the series to the league-leading Eagles but received excellent pitching and some clutch hitting from Robert McIntosh to pull out the win against Winthrop.
Western Carolina (13-16-1, 4-11 SoCon) is coming off a winning series against Samford. The Catamounts took the first two games against Samford before falling on Sunday, 11-6.
Asheville lost a heart-breaking 5-4 decision on Friday to the Eagles as Winthrop rallied with two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Eagles downed the Bulldogs 10-2 on Saturday before Asheville bounced back on Sunday with its 2-1 win.
Tom Smith's club picked up a great start from freshman Tommy Hourmard on Sunday. He pitched six innings, allowing five hits and just one run. David Ricker and Dillon Tabar pitched the final three innings and kept Winthrop at bay. Tabar earned the win to improve his record to 3-1.
"It was nice to get the win on Sunday against a good Winthrop ballclub," stated Smith. "We've got to start finding ways to winning some more games like we did on Sunday."
The Bulldogs are looking to get two wins against the Catamounts for the first time since the 2000 campaign when the teams split four games. Asheville downed WCU 6-2 earlier this year in Cullowhee on March 16.
Asheville is finally home for some games after being on the road for most of the season. The Bulldogs game with the Catamounts starts a stretch of Asheville being at home for eight of the next nine games. The Dogs are at Wofford Wednesday but host High Point at Greenwood Field (April 15-17) this weekend. They'll entertain Wofford next Wednesday (April 20) night at McCormick Field and then host Radford Easter Weekend. The Bulldogs and Highlanders square off at McCormick on April 20 at 3 p.m. and move to Greenwood Field for a double-header on April 21 starting at Noon.
The Bulldogs have played just seven of their first 31 games at home.
"We're glad we're finally going to be at home for awhile," admitted Smith. "We haven't been home but when we've played at home we've played some good baseball.
"I'm excited about playing at McCormick Field," added Smith. "We appreciate the City of Asheville and Asheville Tourists working with us and allowing us to play some games down there."
NOTING THE BULLDOGS
Senior basketball player John Williams will throw out the first pitch on Tuesday night. Williams competed in the Denny's Slam-Dunk contest two weeks ago in Houston and finished second, despite not missing any of his four dunks.
The Bulldogs are 5-2 in home games this season, all at Greenwood Field. Asheville has won its last four games at McCormick Field, dating back to last year.
Sophomore infielder Robert McIntosh is Asheville's top hitter with a .353 average. He also leads the club in slugging percentage (.451), on-base percentage (.421), runs scored (20) and doubles (8).
Asheville is 5-3 in one-run games this year and won four of its last five one-run affairs.
The Bulldogs have not defeated the Catamounts at McCormick Field since the 2002 season. WCU has won four straight against Asheville at McCormick.
Danny Baatz leads Asheville in stolen bases with 10. He led the Bulldogs last season with just eight.
Junior right-hander Ryan Dull has pitched two complete games this year.
