University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Mount St. Mary's
Zayatz's Eight Innings Lead Bulldogs to Series Opening Win
03.04.2016 | Baseball
THE RUNDOWN
Score: Asheville 8 – Mt. St. Mary's 5
Teams: Asheville (3-5, 0-0 BSC)
Mt. St. Mary's (0-5, 0-0 NEC)
Location: Greenwood Field / Asheville, N.C.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – UNC Asheville saw pitcher Joe Zayatz throw another gem in his Friday afternoon start, tossing eight innings as he led the Bulldogs to a 8-5 victory over visiting Mt. St. Mary's in the teams' weekend series opener.
THE TURNING POINT
The Bulldogs posted four runs in the sixth inning to extend their lead, doing all the work with two outs in the frame. The first two batters of the inning were retired via a ground out and strike out before Asheville had three hits and was aided by a Mt. St. Mary's error as they plated runs on a pair of singles back into center field.
NOTABLES
-Joe Tietjen went 4-for-5 with a home run, a double and five RBI to lead a Bulldog lineup that finished with 13 total hits. Danny Wilson (RBI) and Carmine Pagano each had three hits while Scott Kobos (home run, double, RBI) had two hits of his own.
-Zayatz struck out seven batters in his eight innings of work, allowing just five hits and two runs (one earned run). Wilson came on in the ninth and did not record an out, allowing three runs on two walks and a hit before Eric Whitecavage came on to induce a double play and a groundout to end the game.
-Mt. St. Mary's scored the first run of the afternoon in the top of the second inning, using a leadoff double to later score on a sacrifice flyout. The Bulldogs took the lead in the bottom of the inning when Tietjen led off the frame with a solo home run to center field and Kobos followed with a solo homer of his own over the right field wall two batters later.
-Asheville added to the advantage in the third when Teitjen sent another shot into center field, this time driving in two runs on his double. Mt. St. Mary's scored a single run in the top of the sixth when a leadoff single later scored unearned via a two-out Bulldog error.
-The biggest inning of the afternoon came in the bottom of the sixth inning for Asheville, when Wilson tallied an RBI single, Pagano scored on a wild pitch and Tietjen tallied his final RBIs of the afternoon with a two-run single into center field.
-The ninth inning for Mt. St. Mary's saw the first two batters walk before a pair of RBI singles pulled the visitors a little closer. The final run of the afternoon came on the double play ground out followed up moments later by a ground out to seal the game.
UP NEXT
-Following today's win, Asheville continues the weekend series tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 p.m., with sophomore left-hander Jordan Fulbright scheduled to get the start for the Bulldogs, while Connor Graber (R-Sr. RHP) is slated to start for Mt. St. Mary's.
