University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Presbyterian
Bulldog Baseball Heads to Presbyterian for Weekend Series
03.23.2017 | Baseball
Asheville-Presbyterian Notes (PDF)
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville baseball team will hit the road this weekend for a Big South Conference three-game series at Presbyterian College. The series begins on Friday, March 24, with a 3 p.m. first pitch and continues on Saturday, March 25, at 2 p.m. The series finale will be Sunday, March 26, at 1 p.m.
THE MATCHUP
Teams:Â UNC Asheville (8-11, 1-2 Big South) at Presbyterian (11-12, 0-0 Big South)
Location:Â Clinton, S.C. / Blue Hose Baseball Complex
When:Â Friday, March 24, 3 p.m. / Saturday, March 25, 2 p.m. / Sunday, March 26, 1 p.m.
Live Stats:Â www.uncabulldogs.com
Twitter:Â @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
BULLDOG BITES
BULLDOG BASEBALL ON THE BIG SOUTH NETWORK: UNC Asheville will aim to stream all home baseball games on the Big South Network as weather allows.
BULLDOGS VS. CANCER: The UNC Asheville baseball team will hold its annual Vs. Cancer Game next Wednesday, March 29, at McCormick Field in downtown Asheville. The annual event will feature the Bulldogs taking on the Catamounts of Western Carolina at 5 p.m. Donations will be collected prior to the game on UNCABulldogs.com and during Wednesday evening's event and sent to the Vs. Cancer Foundation to help battle childhood cancer. In the four years that UNC Asheville has been working with Vs. Cancer, the Bulldogs have raised nearly $24,000. As part of the evening's events, members of the UNC Asheville baseball team and coaching staff will have their heads shaved following the game in support of the cause.
INSIDE THE SERIES: Entering this weekend's series, Presbyterian owns a 15-10 record over UNC Asheville since the first meeting in 1990. As members of the Big South Conference, the Bulldogs are 7-14 against the Blue Hose. Asheville claimed the series in 2008, 2010 and 2016, including a three-game sweep in 2010.
SCOUTING THE BLUE HOSE: The Blue Hose of Presbyterian College are 11-12 on the year, but haven't started Big South Conference play. This weekend's three-game series in Clinton will mark the conference opener for Presbyterian. The Blue Hose have claimed series victories over Stony Brook and Army after opening the season at Alabama where they dropped the series 2-1 to the Crimson Tide. Presbyterian boasts two of the better hitters in the conference entering the week as A.J. Priaulx and Nick Guimbarda are fourth and fifth in the league in batting average. Priaulx is also seventh in the league with a .541 slugging percentage and ninth with a .440 on-base percentage. Nick Wise is fourth in the Big South with 18 runs scored and Tyler Weyenberg is tied fifth with 17. Last weekend against Army, the Blue Hose sent Brian Kehner to the mound on Friday, Tanner Chock on Saturday and Hayden Deal was the Sunday starter. Kehner pitched a complete game in the series-opener on Friday, striking out eight batters and giving up just two hits in the shutout. Kehner is fourth in the league with 34 innings pitched and 31 strikeouts. Chock pitched just four innings in the Saturday loss to Army, giving up six hits and four earned runs. Deal pitched four innings while giving up three hits and three earned runs on Sunday's finale.
WEEKEND ROTATION: The Bulldogs' starting rotation this weekend will see Brandon Harris toe the rubber first on Friday and fellow freshman Greg Gasparro will start on Saturday. Senior Spencer Orr will remain the Sunday starter. Friday will mark the third consecutive Friday start for Harris who enters the weekend with a 2-1 record and a 1.27 ERA. He has pitched 21.1 innings and struck out six batters. Gasparro will be making his fourth start of the year. He has pitched 19.2 innings and struck out 14 batters. Orr leads the team with 28.1 innings of work and has remained the steady Sunday starter for the Bulldogs this season. He boasts a 3.81 ERA, 1-1 record and has struck out a team-best 24 batters.
FIRST CAREER HOMER: Freshman Tyler Serricchio was one of two Bulldogs to lead the way at the plate Tuesday against a strong Tennessee Tech squad. Serricchio went 2-for-4 at the dish and drove in five runs while scoring two himself. Three of his RBIs came off a home run in the bottom of the eighth when he launched his first career homer to left field, scoring fellow freshman Joe Gruszka and senior Kyle Carruthers.
TOP-10 AND MOVING UP: With his stolen base in the bottom of the first inning, senior Joe Tietjen moved into a tie for seventh all-time in program history for bases stolen in a career. He has now stolen 34 bases over his illustrious career. He is just two stolen bases away from sixth, four away from fifth and is 23 away from first in program history.
CLOSING IN: Senior centerfielder Joe Tietjen is quickly closing in on the top-10 in program history in five other offensive categories. He is just one triple away from tying teammate Tanner Bush and three former Bulldogs for 10th in triples, two home runs and two RBIs away from 10th all-time in those categories and three doubles away from breaking into the top-10. He is also seven runs scored away from breaking into the top-10 in program history.
TIETJEN IN THE BIG SOUTH: Joe Tietjen has already swiped 11 bases so far this season. That mark has him tied for second in the Big South Conference. He is also tied for fifth in the conference with 17 runs scored and is 10th with a .507 slugging percentage.
NOW WALK IT OUT: Freshman Chris Troost is currently ranked tied for fifth in the nation for bases on balls with 23. Troost is walked an average of 1.21 times per game, a mark which has him currently tops in the nation.
TROOST IN THE BIG SOUTH: Chris Troost is ranked in the top-five of the Big South Conference in two categories. Not only does he lead the nation in walks per game, but he also leads the Big South in bases on balls. He is also fifth in the league in on-base percentage (.476).
LANKFORD MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF: Freshman third baseman Brandon Lankford has quickly established himself as one of the better players in the Big South Conference, even as a freshman. He currently sits in the top-five of the league in five offensive categories and is also 19th with a team-best .309 batting average and 10th in hits (25). Lankford is tied for fourth with 19 runs batted in, tied for third in doubles (eight), second in slugging percentage (.593) and total bases (48) and leads the league with five home runs so far on the season.
ORR SOLID ON THE MOUND: Senior southpaw Spencer Orr is currently 10th in the Big South Conference with 28.1 innings pitched. Orr leads the team and is tied for 10th in the league with 24 strikeouts, just six away from his career-high of 30 in one season.
WOODS SAVING THE DAY: Justin Woods recorded his third save of the season on Saturday, March 18, as he pitched the final inning in the Bulldogs' 4-3 victory over Winthrop. He is tied for second in the Big South Conference in the category.
A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING: Justin Woods has done a little bit of everything this season for the Bulldogs. Offensively, he boasts a .246 batting average, has scored seven runs and drove in 13 others. He also has three home runs on the year, including a grand slam at USC Upstate. He is third on the team with a .491 slugging percentage. He has also split time on defense in left field and on the mound. He has made 25 putouts and four assists on the year and is second on the team with a 1.12 ERA in seven appearances. He boasts three saves and has struck out six batters.
BACK-TO-BACK SERIES WINS: When UNC Asheville won the first game of a doubleheader against UMBC on Saturday, March 11, it marked the first time since the 2012 season that the Bulldogs had won back-to-back weekend series. The 7-6 walk-off win over UMBC gave UNC Asheville a 2-1 series win over the Retrievers. The weekend before, the Bulldogs won the series 2-1 over Iona. The last time the Asheville baseball program strung together multiple weekend series was the 2012 campaign. The 2012 Bulldogs won three straight weekend series, including 2-1 over Liberty, a clean sweep (3-0) on the road at High Point and 2-1 at College of Charleston.
NOT ONE, NOT TWO, BUT THREE: The Bulldogs turned a rare 1-3-5-6 triple play in the bottom of the first inning at Appalachian State on Wednesday, March 8. It is just the second triple play to be turned in NCAA Division I this season as George Washington turned one earlier this year. It is also the second triple play in as many years in the Big South Conference as Gardner-Webb turned the only triple play in Division I last season.
YOUNG SQUAD: The Bulldogs' starting lineup has featured 12 players who are either freshmen or sophomores to start the year. Freshmen Chris Troost, Brandon Lankford, Kole Harris, Joe Gruszka, Jake Madole, Tyler Serricchio and Greg Gasparro have all contributed in the starting lineup very early. Sophomores Carmine Pagano, Andrew Friedholm, Danny Wilson, Austin Fahr and Ryan Tapp have all picked up where they left off as freshmen and are beginning to see their roles increase as well.
MOVING RUNNERS ACROSS THE PLATE: Senior center fielder Joe Tietjen moved seven runners across the plate on Friday, Feb. 24, against Dayton, coming up just two shy of the individual single-game school record. Tietjen had a double and a home run to help his efforts. He also had two other hits that came close to clearing the fence. One was just foul and the other came up just short of the center field fence.
LAST TIME OUT (vs. Tennessee Tech, 3/21/17): The UNC Asheville baseball team suffered a 20-9 loss at the hands of Tennessee Tech, Tuesday evening at Greenwood Field. The Golden Eagles scored three runs in both the third and fourth innings before breaking things open with 11 runs in the top of the sixth. Tennessee Tech rounded out the scoring with two runs in the eighth and a solo run in the ninth. UNC Asheville scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth, a single run in the sixth, two runs in the seventh and three in the eighth. With the Bulldogs down 6-0 after four and a half innings, freshman designated hitter Tyler Serricchio appeared to give the Bulldogs a spark in the bottom of the fifth when he singled to left-center field, scoring both Justin Woods and fellow freshman Joe Gruszka. A couple of batters later, Chris Troost singled up the middle to score Kyle Carruthers and set the score at 6-3. However, the Bulldogs gave up the 11 runs in the top of the sixth. Despite the deficit, UNC Asheville continued to fight to the very end, out-scoring the Golden Eagles 5-3 in the final three innings. Danny Wilson ripped his second home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth and then in the seventh, he sent a blooper single down the right field line to score Troost. On the same play, senior Joe Tietjen rounded third and scored on a bad throw by the second baseman. In the bottom of the eighth, Serricchio continued his solid outing at the plate with a three-run home run over the left field fence, scoring Gruszka again and Carrruthers. It was the first home run of the freshman's collegiate career. Wilson had the best day at the plate for UNC Asheville as he went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored. Serricchio wasn't too far behind as he went 2-for-4 with five RBIs, two runs scored and his one homer. Both squads utilized several pitchers on the afternoon. Nick Boyles (0-3) got the start for UNC Asheville, pitching the first 2.2 innings to become the pitcher of record. Devin Lancaster (3-0) was the starting pitcher and pitcher of record for Tennessee Tech as he pitched 5.0 innings before being relieved by three other Golden Eagles.
UP NEXT: UNC Asheville will play two midweek games, one on the road and one in Asheville. The Bulldogs will start the week on the road at UNCG on Tuesday, March 28. The game against the Spartans is slated for a 6 p.m. first pitch. The following evening, the Bulldogs will host the Catamounts of Western Carolina on Wednesday, March 29, for their annual Vs. Cancer Game at McCormick Field. First pitch from McCormick Field in downtown Asheville will be at 5 p.m.
LANKFORD NAMED BIG SOUTH FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK (2/27): After a stellar week in Spartanburg, UNC Asheville baseball true freshman Brandon Lankford was named the Big South Conference's Come Ready Nutrition Freshman of the Week, as announced by the conference office Monday, Feb. 27. Lankford's honor marks the second week in a row that a UNC Asheville freshman has earned the honor and gives UNC Asheville a sweep of the award in the first two weeks of its existence. Last week, fellow true freshman Chris Troost earned the first-ever Come Ready Nutrition Freshman of the Week honors for baseball in the Big South. Lankford led the Bulldogs to a 2-2 record this past week in Spartanburg. Over the course of the Bulldogs' four games, he batted a team-best .389 with an outstanding .833 slugging percentage and .500 on-base percentage. He led the team with four extra base knocks, including two home runs and two doubles. The third baseman from Mocksville, N.C., had multiple hits in all but one game last week and also had at least one RBI in each game. He scored seven runs himself, including the game-winner Sunday to lift Asheville over Wofford 7-6, and batted in six others. In the field, he recorded a putout and nine assists for a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. In Wednesday's game at USC Upstate, Lankford started the scoring drive for the Bulldogs with a double to score Carmine Pagano, putting Asheville up 1-0. On Friday against Dayton, his single through the left side to score fellow freshman Kole Harris in the top of the second inning put the Bulldogs ahead of the Flyers for good. He then scored the first of his two runs of that game when Joe Tietjen doubled to left field. His second run of the game came when Tietjen ripped a home run to center field. In the game against the Flyers, Lankford went 2-for-4 at the plate and drew two walks. In the weekend finale at Wofford, Lankford went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored. In the fourth inning, he scored off a Danny Wilson double down the right field line. Then, in the eighth inning, Lankford hit his third home run of the season, second of the week, scoring last week's Big South Come Ready Nutrition Freshman of the Week Troost. He ended his week by scoring the game-winning run in the top of the ninth inning when fellow freshman Joe Gruszka was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
TROOST NAMED FIRST-EVER BIG SOUTH FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK (2/20): UNC Asheville baseball true freshman Chris Troost was named the first-ever Big South Conference's Come Ready Nutrition Freshman of the Week as announced by the conference office Monday, Feb. 20. Troost led the way offensively for Asheville during the opening weekend series at Samford. The 5-8 Medford, N.J., native batted .444 through the three-game series and boasted an on-base percentage of .615 while scoring a run and batting in another. He showed enough improvement over the weekend to move up from the seven-hole of the lineup to the two-hole. In the season-opener on Friday, Troost showed a lot of patience in the batter's box to draw three walks compared to just one strikeout and also had an RBI. In Sunday's series finale, Troost went 3-for-4 at the plate with a run scored and also drew another walk. He scored his run in the ninth inning to add an important insurance run, helping Asheville defeat Samford 6-4 for the first win of the season.
TIETJEN NAMED PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE BY PERFECT GAME: UNC Asheville baseball player Joe Tietjen has been named to the Perfect Game Preseason Big South All-Conference Team by the staff of Perfect Game and was listed in the top-five of the top prospects of the conference for this year's graduating class. A senior outfielder from Waxhaw, N.C., Tietjen was named to the Big South All-Conference Second Team following the 2016 season. During his junior campaign, he led the team in nine offensive statistical categories, including batting average (.344), runs scored (44), hits (74), home runs (10) and stolen bases (12). He also boasted a .553 slugging percentage, batted in 55 runs and collected 119 total bases in 215 at bats. For his career, Tietjen boasts a .306 batting average, has scored 101 runs, collected 145 hits and has driven in 90 runs. He has also swiped 23 bases and has 342 putouts in the field.
QUOTABLES
"I want to see us get back to where we were a couple of weeks ago. I thought we played two really good games against Winthrop after we let the first one get away. If we can get back to what we did against Samford, during the Spartanburg weekend where we played three good games, Iona and UMBC, we give ourselves a chance to win. Some of those we lost, but we played mostly good baseball and that's where we need to get back to." – Scott Friedholm
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