University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Presbyterian
Teitjen and the Bulldogs Post Big Days at the Plate
04.03.2016 | Baseball
THE RUNDOWN
Score: Asheville 22 – Presbyterian 9
Teams: Asheville (7-21, 2-7 BSC)
Presbyterian (14-13, 2-4 BSC)
Location: Greenwood Field / Asheville, N.C.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – UNC Asheville scored in five different innings on Sunday, including plating multiple runs in four frames, as the Bulldogs grabbed a Big South series win over Presbyterian with a 22-9 victory at Greenwood Field.
THE TURNING POINT
After Presbyterian opened the game with three runs in the top of the first inning, the Bulldogs responded with a six-run bottom of the first to set the tone for the afternoon. Asheville went on to score in the opening four frames and then capped the afternoon with a seven-run eighth inning.
NOTABLES
-Asheville was led by Joe Tietjen, who finished 3-for-6 with a double and a pair of home runs – a grand slam in the fourth inning and a three-run shot in the eighth – as he totaled a career-high nine RBI.
-Tietjen's nine RBI ties the school record for most runs batted in in a single game, joining Brian Shehan's nine RBI afternoon against Campbell in 1989.
-The 22 runs scored are the most for the Bulldogs in the Scott Friedholm era, surpassing a 20-run game last spring against Western Carolina (May 1, 2015), while the scoring output is also a new high mark for runs scored in a Big South game under Friedholm (previously 13 vs. High Point, May 8, 2015).
-Derek Smith and Kyle Carruthers each finished with two hits, while five Bulldogs tallied one hit each. Smith drove in three RBI, while Scott Kobos and Carmine Pagano each drove in two runs. Five additional players each collected an RBI in the win.
-Spencer Orr earned his second win of the season after tossing four innings and striking out five batters, allowing eight runs on 10 hits. Austin Fahr gave the Bulldogs three scoreless innings out of the bullpen before Eric Whitecavage and Jesse Juday each logged an inning to wrap up the afternoon on the mound.
-Presbyterian tallied three runs on three hits, including a homer, in the top of the first inning before Asheville sent 11 men to the plate in the bottom of the first inning to take the lead it would never give up. Highlights of the frame for the Bulldogs included RBI singles from Carruthers, Pagano and Smith, as well as a sacrifice fly from Kobos that brought in a run. Asheville drew four walks and was hit by a pitch in the opening five batters of the inning to set things in motion.
-The Bulldogs added three more runs in the second inning on RBI singles from Kobos and Justin Woods, as well as a balk, before plating a single run in the third on Tietjen's RBI double.
-The five-run fourth inning for the Bulldogs featured Tietjen's grand slam, while Presbyterian scored two runs prior to the homer in the top of the fourth via a two-run home run of its own. The visitors then posted three runs in the top of the fifth on another two-run homer and an RBI double but would get no closer.
-Asheville's seven-run eighth inning sent 13 men to the plate, and was keyed by Tietjen's three-run homer, Smith's two-run single and Danny Wilson's RBI base hit.
-Presbyterian notched a run in the top of the ninth via an RBI groundout to bring the game to its final score.
QUOTABLES FROM HEAD COACH SCOTT FRIEDHOLM
On the game – “We took advantage of some big innings. We took advantage a little bit, but we came up with the big hits. Joe Tietjen had a couple big ones for us. It was a 1-9 type of approach. Guys were getting on base and giving us an opportunity every inning to score runs. I think the turning point of the game was Austin Fahr coming in during a crazy game and giving us two zeros in a row and leaving a guy on base when he came in. He settled us down on the mound and then Whitecavage came in and did the same thing. The last thing is we didn't make any mistakes defensively. We gave them 27 outs and we took care of the baseball.”
On getting the big hits – “I think it's going to be a huge confidence booster, especially for guys like Joe Tietjen and Kyle Carruthers…those guys in the middle of the lineup. The guys around them are getting on base for them. We don't want to put any more pressure on those type of hitters, but they have been having good at-bats and now the hits are starting to fall.”
UP NEXT
-Following today's win, Asheville has a pair of midweek road contests this week, beginning with a Tuesday night trip to USC Upstate before a Wednesday matchup at UNC. The Bulldogs return home next weekend to host North Carolina Central, with the teams scheduled for a doubleheader next Saturday and a single game next Sunday.
