University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
UNCG
Bulldog Baseball Set to Play Two Midweek Games
03.27.2017 | Baseball
Asheville-Midweek Notes (PDF)
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Fresh off the series victory over Presbyterian this past weekend on the road, the UNC Asheville baseball team will play two midweek games, one on the road and one in Asheville. The Bulldogs will travel to UNCG on Tuesday, March 28, before taking on Western Carolina on Wednesday, March 29, at McCormick Field located in downtown Asheville. The game against the Catamounts will serve as the Bulldogs' annual Vs. Cancer Game.
THE MATCHUPS
Teams:Â UNC Asheville (10-12) at UNCG (15-9)
Location:Â Greensboro, N.C. / UNCG Baseball Stadium
When:Â Tuesday, March 28 / 6 p.m.
Live Video:Â UNCG YouTube
Live Stats:Â www.uncabulldogs.com
Twitter:Â @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
Teams:Â UNC Asheville (10-12) vs. Western Carolina (9-14)
Event: Vs. Cancer Game
Location:Â Asheville, N.C. / McCormick Field
When:Â Wednesday, March 29 / 5 p.m.
Live Video:Â Big South Network
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 GAME: The UNC Asheville baseball team will hold its annual Vs. Cancer Game this 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 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: UNC Asheville is 7-21 all-time against UNCG, however the Bulldogs have won five of the last eight meetings. Included in that most recent stretch, Asheville is 4-3 in Greensboro since the 2007 season. Against the Catamounts, the Bulldogs are 19-38 all-time. Under head coach Scott Friedholm, the Bulldogs are 3-0 against Western Carolina.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS: After starting the season with four games on the road, UNCG has played 20 of their last 21 games at home, going 14-6 during that stretch. The lone game away from UNCG Baseball Stadium was a midweek contest at First National Bank Field against North Carolina A&T. The Spartans are 15-9 on the year and have won eight of their last 10 games. Last weekend, UNCG took two of three from Western Carolina in the SoCon opening series. UNCG is led by two batters with above-.400 batting averages, including Caleb Webster's .443 and Austin Embler's .404. Andrew Moritz is just below the mark with a .392. Webster leads the squad with nine extra-base knocks, including a team-best seven doubles. Moritz leads the team with six triples. Cesar Trejo boasts a team-best three home runs. On the mound, Dan Loatz has been the go-to guy to start midweek games in three of the Spartans' four games. He is 1-2 on the year with a 5.40 ERA. He has pitched 25.0 innings, given up 24 hits and 15 earned runs and struck out 22 batters. The only other midweek starter so far for UNCG was Travis Tuttle who got the start against North Carolina A&T, but only managed to go 0.2 of an inning, while giving up one hit and three earned runs.
SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS: Western Carolina enters Wednesday's game with a 9-14 record, including having lost seven of their last 10 games. Most recently, the Catamounts dropped a three-game road series 2-1 to UNCG. Western Carolina has played six games against ranked opponents, going 1-5 in those contests with their win being 9-8 at then 20th-ranked N.C. State. The Catamounts have been led at the plate by Bryson Bowman's .326 batting average and .517 slugging percentage. He is second on the team with 29 hits and 21 RBIs. Caleb Robinson leads the way with 11 total extra-base knocks, but Matt Smith boasts nine doubles and a team-best 24 runs batted in. The Catamounts have utilized three different midweek starting pitchers with Dillon Bray having made the last three starts. On the season, Bray is 0-3 with a 10.35 ERA in six appearances. He has pitched 20.0 innings and giving up 30 hits, 23 earned runs and 11 walks compared to 15 strikeouts.
TOP-10 AND MOVING UP: With three stolen bases in the three-game series against Winthrop, senior Joe Tietjen moved into a tie for seventh all-time in program history for bases stolen in a career. He has 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 and is one home run away as well. He is also two RBIs away, three doubles away and 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 fourth in the Big South Conference. He is also tied for third in the conference with 21 runs scored, seventh with a .548 slugging percentage and tied for ninth with 15 walks.
NOW WALK IT OUT: Freshman Chris Troost enters the week ranked tied for 11th in the nation for bases on balls. Troost averages 1.15 walks per game, a mark which has him currently tied for fourth in the nation.
TROOST IN THE BIG SOUTH: Chris Troost is ranked in the top-10 of the Big South Conference in two categories. He leads the Big South in bases on balls with 23 and he is also eighth in the league in on-base percentage (.455).
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-10 of the league in five offensive categories. He is tied for first with five home runs, tied for third with 49 total bases, tied for fifth with eight doubles, sixth with a .551 slugging percentage and seventh with 20 runs batted in.
ORR SOLID ON THE MOUND: Senior southpaw Spencer Orr is currently eighth in the Big South Conference with 35.0 innings pitched. Orr leads the team and is 10th in the league with 29 strikeouts, just one away from his career-high of 30 in one season.
WOODS SAVING THE DAY: Justin Woods recorded his fourth save of the season on Friday against Presbyterian as he pitched the final inning in the Bulldog's 4-2 victory over the Blue Hose. He is second in the Big South Conference with four saves on the season.
LAST TIME OUT (at Presbyterian, 3/25/17): The UNC Asheville baseball team claimed a Big South Conference series with Presbyterian Saturday afternoon as the Bulldogs split their doubleheader at the PC Baseball Complex. The Blue Hose claimed the day's first game 7-4 with the Bulldogs bouncing back for a 7-1 win the finale. The Bulldogs recorded 17 hits between Saturday's two games while the Blue Hose registered 23. Over the three-game series, UNC Asheville out-scored Presbyterian 15-10. Presbyterian eased out to an early 1-0 lead in the second inning of the day's first game with a sacrifice fly, but UNC Asheville was able to take a 3-1 lead in the top of the fourth with three runs. Joe Zayatz scored first for the Bulldogs off a groundout by Danny Wilson. Two batters later, Justin Woods hit a single up the middle that scored seniors Joe Tietjen and Kyle Carruthers. The Blue Hose answered in the bottom of the inning with a four-spot to retake the lead for good, including a three-RBI double. UNC Asheville was able to get a run back to pull within one in the top of the sixth, but the Blue Hose added single runs in the bottom of the sixth and seventh to even the weekend series and set up a crucial rubber game. Zayatz, Woods and Andrew Friedholm all collected multiple hits in the game with Zayatz going 3-for-4 with one run scored. Both Woods and Friedholm went 2-for-4. Spencer Orr (1-2) pitched the first 6.2 innings for UNC Asheville, striking out five batters. Jesse Juday came on for the final just over one inning. Hayden Deal (2-2) earned his second win of the season in 7.1 innings of work while Ryan Dedrick pitched the final 1.2 innings to earn his third save of the season. UNC Asheville wasted little time in the second game, scoring three runs in the first two innings to edge out to a 3-0 lead. In the first inning, Zayatz scored when Woods drew a bases-loaded walk. During the next at-bat, Brandon Lankford scored when the Presbyterian catcher made a throwing error. In the top of the second, Kole Harris led things off by ripping his first collegiate home run. The freshman's homer came on the third pitch of his at-bat. The Bulldogs added a single run in the top of the fifth when Tietjen hit his fourth home run of the season, pulling him to within one homer of the top-10 in program history. The Bulldogs wrapped up the scoring drive in the top of the sixth with a three-spot that started when Joe Gruszka crossed the plate thanks to a bases-loaded walk by Tietjen. On the next at-bat, Wilson sent a rocket of a double down the left field line, scoring Carmine Pagano and Zayatz to set the score at 7-0. Presbyterian avoided being shut out with a single run in the bottom of the ninth, but was unable to manage any more. Tietjen followed up his multi-hit first game with another two hits in game-two. Tietjen and Wilson both had two RBIs in the second game. Freshman lefty Greg Gasparro (1-1) earned his first-career collegiate win as he pitched 7.0 innings of scoreless ball while striking out five batters. Eric Whitecavage and Nick Boyles pitched the final two innings. Tanner Chock (0-4) was saddled with the loss for PC as he gave up four runs, three earned, five hits and four walks.
UP NEXT: Following the pair of midweek games, UNC Asheville will take a weekend off from Big South Conference play. The Bulldogs will trek up to Richmond, Va., to take on the Spiders of Richmond in a three-game series beginning Friday, March 31. The series will begin with a 3 p.m. first pitch on Friday and Saturday's game will feature a 1 p.m. start time. The series finale will get underway with a 12 p.m. first pitch.
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.
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
"We have two challenges in front of us this week with UNCG and Western Carolina. Some guys are going to play some different positions this week and need to make the adjustment quickly. It all starts on the mound, though. We need Austin Fahr to give us a good start on Tuesday night." – Scott Friedholm
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