University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Tennessee
Bulldogs Fall to Tennessee Tuesday Night
03.15.2016 | Baseball
THE RUNDOWN
Scores: Tennessee 7 – Asheville 3
Teams: Asheville (4-12, 0-0 BSC)
Tennessee (11-5, 0-0 SEC)
Location: McCormick Field / Asheville, N.C.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Visiting Tennessee sent eight men to the plate in the top of the first inning and posted two quick runs before bookending the night with two runs in the eighth to push away and hand UNC Asheville a 7-3 loss Tuesday night at McCormick Field.
THE TURNING POINT
Asheville's Lucas Owens was thrown out at the plate to end the third inning and keep Tennessee in front 3-0. The Bulldogs would have had the bases loaded with the middle of the lineup coming to the plate. On the mound, eight Asheville pitchers gave up nine walks, including five from starter Spencer Orr, who tallied only 1 2/3 innings of work.
NOTABLES
-Leadoff man Derek Smith finished with two hits, the only Bulldog to have multiple hits. Asheville finished with eight total hits in the loss, however three of those went for doubles – one each from Pete Guy, Danny Wilson and Scott Kobos.
-Wilson notched two RBIs on his double to deep center field in the bottom of the sixth inning, at the time pulling Asheville to within two runs.Guy's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh brought home the only other Bulldog run.
-Orr allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits and the five walks in his 1 2/3 inning start on his way to falling to 0-2 on the season. Tyler Hughes struck out five batters over his 3 1/3 innings of relief, allowing just one unearned run and keeping Asheville within striking distance when he exited after the fifth frame.
-Six other Bulldog relievers combined for the final four innings, combining to allow three runs (two earned) on six hits and three walks.
-Tennessee opened the night with a leadoff double from Jeff Moberg before he scored the first run of the night on Vincent Jackson's RBI single. The second run of the inning came moments later via a sacrifice fly before Orr settled down to close the inning and strand the Tennessee bases loaded. The visitors added a third run in the second inning on Chris Hall's RBI double and a fourth run in the fourth inning via Jackson's sacrifice fly.
-The Bulldogs plated two runs in the sixth inning, with Guy doubling down the left field line to open the frame before Joe Tietjen was hit by a pitch. Wilson stepped in and sent his deep double into center field, with both runners scoring almost stride for stride across the plate. The next three Asheville batters were retired in order to end the threat.
-The teams each added a run in the seventh inning, with Tennessee using a Max Bartlett RBI single to extend the advantage before the Bulldogs saw Smith reach on a one-out single and later score on Guy's sacrifice fly.
-Tennessee put the game out of reach in the top of the eighth when the first three batters of the inning reached and Jackson drove in two runs with his single through the left side.
-Kobos connected on his two-out double, followed by Erik Connolly's walk, to give the Bulldogs a pair of base runners in the eighth before the threat was ended with a groundout to end the inning.
UP NEXT
-Following tonight's loss, the Bulldogs welcome High Point to town this weekend for the first Big South Conference series of the season. Friday's series opener will begin at 6:00 p.m., while Saturday's game is at 3:00 p.m. and Sunday will have a 1:00 p.m. first pitch.
