University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Ohio
Late Inning Drops Bulldogs on Opening Day
02.19.2016 | Baseball
THE RUNDOWN
Score: Ohio 12 – Asheville 5
Teams: Asheville (0-1, 0-0 BSC)
Ohio (1-0, 0-0 MAC)
Location: Greenwood Field / Asheville, N.C.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – A six-run ninth inning pushed visiting Ohio University past UNC Asheville on Friday afternoon on the opening day of the 2016 baseball season at Greenwood Field.
THE TURNING POINT
Ohio connected on a pair of RBI singles and a two-run base hit as part of its six-run ninth inning after Asheville grounded into a double play to end the eighth inning and keep the game a 6-5 advantage for the visitors.
Junior Joe Tietjen's two-out, three run double in the bottom of the seventh inning knotted the game up at 5-5 at the time.
NOTABLES
-Freshman Carmine Pagano finished 3-4 in his first collegiate game, tallying RBI singles in his first two at-bats, with both hits tying the game at that point.
-Tietjen (3 RBIs) and freshman Scott Kobos collected Asheville's only other two hits. Bulldog hitters drew 10 walks, including three by freshman Andrew Friedholm, but left six men on base in the game.
-Asheville starter Joe Zayatz did not factor in the decision, tossing five innings and allowing four runs (two earned) on 10 hits with two strikeouts. Corey Randall, the second of four Bulldog relievers used, was saddled with the loss after allowing the go-ahead run to score in the top of the seventh inning during his 2/3 of an inning of work.
-The Bulldogs jumped on the board first in the bottom of the second inning via Pagano's RBI single into center field that plated Danny Wilson, who led off the inning with a walk. Ohio answered in the top of the third inning with a sacrifice fly to bring in a run and added a run in the fourth frame on a leadoff solo home run.
-Asheville again knotted things up in the bottom of the fourth inning when Pagano came through with a single into right field to score Jake Madole. Ohio went on to score two runs via errors in the top of the fifth inning and added another in the top of the seventh to push the lead to three before Tietjen's three-run double in the bottom of the seventh.
-Ohio finished with 17 hits, led by three hits apiece from Ty Black and Cody Gaertner. Reliever Jake Miller earned the victory for Ohio after 1 1/3 innings out of the bullpen.
QUOTABLES FROM HEAD COACH SCOTT FRIEDHOLM
On the game – “I thought we competed well through seven to eight innings. We can't give a good offensive team like Ohio extra outs or bases. We did, and they took advantage of them. We need to come out tomorrow and take care of the baseball.”
UP NEXT
-Following today's loss, the Bulldogs and Ohio return to Greenwood Field on Saturday afternoon in game two of the season-opening series. First pitch is slated for 2:00 p.m., with sophomore Jordan Fulbright taking the ball for the Bulldogs against Ohio junior Jake Rudnicki.
