University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Photo by: UNC Asheville
Starting Rotation for Season-Opening Series at Samford Announced
02.15.2017 | Baseball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – UNC Asheville head baseball coach Scott Friedholm released his starting pitching rotation for the opening series at Samford, Wednesday morning.
Freshman Greg Gasparro will get the nod for Friday's season-opener while redshirt sophomore Ryan Tapp will get the ball Saturday. Senior Spencer Orr will close things out for Asheville on Sunday.
"We are excited about our pitching staff's depth this year, but these three individuals have earned the opportunity to be the starters this weekend," Friedholm said. "Our hope is that they will continue to earn this opportunity, but we have 10 pitchers behind them that will continue to push each other and will also work hard to earn starts."
Gasparro, a left-hander from Pennington, N.J., will be making his collegiate debut on Friday evening. When Gasparro toes the rubber, it will mark the first time in the Friedholm era that a freshman hurler has gotten the nod in the season-opener as well as the first time that a southpaw has started the first game of the season for Freidholm. Gasparro will also be the youngest opening day pitcher the Bulldogs have thrown since Ryan Dull got the opening-day nod as a sophomore in 2010.
Tapp redshirted last season, but as a true freshman in 2015, he appeared in 18 games as a reliever. He threw 17.2 innings and struck out 16 batters on the year.
Orr returns for his senior season after making 16 appearances and eight starts last season. For his career, Orr has pitched 101.1 innings and struck out 72 batters, including a career-high 30 last season. He is 6-4 in three years.
The three-game series at Samford begins Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Saturday's game will feature a 3 p.m. first pitch with the series wrapping up Sunday at 2 p.m. Live stats and live video will be available.
The Bulldogs' home opener is slated for Friday, March 3, against Iona at Greenwood Field, in the first of a three-game series.
Freshman Greg Gasparro will get the nod for Friday's season-opener while redshirt sophomore Ryan Tapp will get the ball Saturday. Senior Spencer Orr will close things out for Asheville on Sunday.
"We are excited about our pitching staff's depth this year, but these three individuals have earned the opportunity to be the starters this weekend," Friedholm said. "Our hope is that they will continue to earn this opportunity, but we have 10 pitchers behind them that will continue to push each other and will also work hard to earn starts."
Gasparro, a left-hander from Pennington, N.J., will be making his collegiate debut on Friday evening. When Gasparro toes the rubber, it will mark the first time in the Friedholm era that a freshman hurler has gotten the nod in the season-opener as well as the first time that a southpaw has started the first game of the season for Freidholm. Gasparro will also be the youngest opening day pitcher the Bulldogs have thrown since Ryan Dull got the opening-day nod as a sophomore in 2010.
Tapp redshirted last season, but as a true freshman in 2015, he appeared in 18 games as a reliever. He threw 17.2 innings and struck out 16 batters on the year.
Orr returns for his senior season after making 16 appearances and eight starts last season. For his career, Orr has pitched 101.1 innings and struck out 72 batters, including a career-high 30 last season. He is 6-4 in three years.
The three-game series at Samford begins Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Saturday's game will feature a 3 p.m. first pitch with the series wrapping up Sunday at 2 p.m. Live stats and live video will be available.
The Bulldogs' home opener is slated for Friday, March 3, against Iona at Greenwood Field, in the first of a three-game series.
Players Mentioned
Tuesday, May 28
Tuesday, May 28
Tuesday, May 28
Monday, May 13