University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Appalachian State
Bulldogs Score 11-5 Win Over Appalachian State
03.17.2015 | Baseball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Freshman Jordan Fulbright pitched into the eighth inning and Hunter Bryant belted a three-run homer to lead UNC Asheville to an 11-5 victory over Appalachian State on Tuesday afternoon at Greenwood Field.
Fulbright's final statline included four strikeouts in his 7 2/3 innings of work, as he improved to 3-0 on the year for Asheville. Bryant finished the game 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs and three RBI. Pete Guy and Kyle Carruthers each added two hits for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs (10-10) allowed Appalachian to jump out to a two-run lead in the top of the first but responded with three runs in both the first and third frames, as well as a four-run fifth inning, to grab the midweek non-conference victory.
The Apps (5-15) opened the scoring in the first inning. With two on and two out, Conner Leonard doubled to right-center to score both runners and give the Mountaineers the short-lived lead.
Asheville battled back to take the lead in the bottom of the frame with some help from the ASU. Two walks and a passed ball put runners on second and third for Guy, who saw his ground ball fumbled for an error at second base, allowing Kyle Towles to score to cut the lead to 2-1.
A wild pitch from ASU starter Blake Burkett scored Joe Tietjen to tie the game at 2-2. Justin Woods' RBI-single plated Guy to give the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead.
In the third, Asheville added three runs on a big hit from Byant. Tietjen had a one-out walk, followed by a single from Guy. Bryant then sent ASU reliever's Luke Watts second pitch over the left-field wall for a three-run homer, his team-leading third of the year, to put the Bulldogs in front 6-2. The home run would end up being the only extra-base hit of the game for the Bulldogs.
ASU rallied for a run in the fourth on Zach Hummel's run-scoring single with two outs to cut the lead to 6-3 before Asheville pulled away in the fifth with their four-run frame. The first three batters of the inning all reached before Joe Woods' sacrifice fly brought home a run. Carruthers drove home a run moments later with his RBI single and Derek Smith capped off the inning with his two-run single later in the frame.
A two-run homer in the top of the sixth by Grayson Atwood pulled Appalachian to within five runs at 10-5, but the Bulldogs added a final fun in the seventh when Carruthers opening the inning with a leadoff single and later scored on a fielder's choice ground ball.
UNC Asheville stays at home and jumps back into Big South Conference play when they host rival Coastal Carolina at Greenwood Field in a three-game weekend series. Friday's opening game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. first pitch.
