University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
North Carolina Central
Late Homer Caps Wild, High-Scoring Night
04.21.2015 | Baseball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Hunter Bryant's two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning capped off a wild night at Greenwood Field, as the UNC Asheville baseball team came from behind to grab a 17-16 victory over North Carolina Central on Tuesday night.
The Bulldogs (17-24) tallied 22 hits as a team on their way to the 17-run night, as the teams combined to collect 36 total hits in the game, including eight extra base hits.
After a scoreless first inning, each frame featured at least one run scored throughout the rest of the night up until the ninth inning, when Asheville's Adam Spracklin shut down N.C. Central (19-21) in order to wrap things up.
Erik Connolly led the Bulldogs at the plate, finishing 4-for-5 with five RBI and a double. Joe Tietjen and Bryant each collected three hits, with Tietjen driving in six RBI and tallying a pair of doubles and a triple.
Tyler Hughes, the fifth of the six Asheville pitchers in the game, earned his second win of the year after tossing two innings and allowing three hits and one Eagle run.
The Eagles jumped on the board with five runs in the second inning to take the lead, but the Bulldogs responded with 15 of the next 18 runs to take a 15-8 lead into the sixth frame. The visitors responded with a big inning of their own, posting a seven-run sixth inning and adding a run in the seventh to take the lead and set up the Bulldog eighth inning.
Kyle Carruthers opened the eighth inning with a single through the left side before Bryant drilled his two-run homer off the scoreboard in left-center field for the eventual game-winning runs.
Asheville remains at home through the weekend when they welcome Big South Conference foe Longwood to town for a three game series beginning on Friday night with a 6 p.m. first pitch.
