Bulldogs Travel to Appalachian State Wednesday for Mid-Week Game

Asheville-Appalachian State Series Notes (PDF)

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville baseball team will hit the road for a mid-week game in Boone, N.C., this week before returning home for a three-game series against UMBC. The Bulldogs will tangle with the Mountaineers on Wednesday, March 8. First pitch of the mid-week tilt is slated for 5 p.m.

THE MATCHUP
Teams: UNC Asheville (5-5) at Appalachian State (5-6)
Location: Boone, N.C. / Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium
When: Wednesday, March 8 / 5 p.m.
Live Video: App State Network
Live Stats: www.uncabulldogs.com
Twitter: @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit

BULLDOG BITES
INSIDE THE SERIES: Appalachian State controls the all-time series with a 41-21 record over UNC Asheville since 1985. The Bulldogs claimed all three games of the series in 1998 and claimed both games over the Mountaineers in 1993 and 2004. Under head coach Scott Friedholm, UNC Asheville is 2-1 against App State.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS: The Mountaineers started the 2017 season by dropping three of four games at the Hughes Brothers Challenge hosted by then No. 24^th-ranked UNC Wilmington. App State dropped back-to-back games to VMI and George Mason and ended the weekend with a loss to the nationally-ranked Seahawks. They bounced back the following week with a three-game sweep on the road at Gardner-Webb. So far on the year, Calev Grubbs and Matt Vernon have led the way with above .270 batting averages. Grubbs boasts a .297 average with a team-best eight runs scored while Vernon is batting .271 with six runs scored. He and Chandler Seagle lead the way with seven runs batted in each. On the base paths, Jason Curtis is the biggest threat with three stolen bases so far on the year. The pitching corps has nine pitchers that have made at least three appearances so far on the season. Colin Schmid has pitched the most with 21.0 innings of work to his credit while Luke Watts has pitched 18.0 frames. Schmid boasts a team-best 20 strikeouts and Watts has fanned 16 batters. Bobby Hampton was the starting pitcher in the Mountaineers' lone mid-week game earlier this year, an 8-4 loss to then fourth-ranked South Carolina. Hampton went 4.1 innings and gave up six hits and four earned runs but didn't record a strikeout.

OFF TO A GOOD START: The Bulldogs have started the year off 5-5 with a series win over Iona. The .500 start marks the best start for the program under third-year head coach Scott Friedholm and is the best start through 10 games since the 2012 squad went 6-4 to start the year. Both the 2011 and 2012 teams started the season undefeated. The 2011 Bulldogs started off 4-0 and the 2012 team went 3-0 to kick off the season.

DOUBLING THEM UP: In the series against Iona, UNC Asheville turned seven double plays, giving the Bulldogs 13 for the year.

EXTRA-BASE KNOCKS: The Bulldogs combined for nine extra-base knocks on the weekend, including six doubles, two triples and a home run by Danny Wilson.

WILSON AT THE PLATE: Over the three games with Iona this past weekend, sophomore Danny Wilson led the Bulldogs' offense with a .455 batting average, going 5-for-11 at the plate with four runs batted in, two extra-base knocks and one run scored. He slugged .818 for the weekend and boasted an on-base percentage of .538 as he walked twice and didn't strike out.

OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION: For the weekend, three Bulldogs scored multiple runs led by Joe Tietjen's four. Carmine Pagano scored three runs against the Gaels and Brandon Lankford scored two. Danny Wilson led the way with four RBIs and Tietjen, Jake Madole, Lankford had two RBIs each for the weekend series.

THE PITCHING CORPS: For the weekend, Asheville's pitchers combined for a 4.00 ERA and held Iona's batters to a .273 batting average. The Bulldogs combined to strike out 19 batters led by Spencer Orr, Joe Zayatz and Kole Harris all with four. In three innings of work, Brandon Harris held Iona's hitters to a .091 batting average as he gave up just one hit.

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.

A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING: Senior Justin Woods did a little bit of everything while in Spartanburg. The senior started his week off by recording his first career grand slam against USC Upstate on Wednesday, Feb. 22. The four-RBI performance was just the beginning as he led the team with nine RBIs on the week. For the week, he batted .313, including two home runs and a double, scored three runs and boasted a slugging percentage of .750 to go with a .450 on-base percentage. In the field, he had seven putouts. But his week didn't end there as he came on to pitch the final two innings of UNC Asheville's 7-6 come-from-behind win over Wofford on Sunday, Feb. 26, earning the win and striking out two batters, including the last batter of the game. In his two innings of work, batters hit just .167 against him (one hit) and he didn't walk a batter compared to his two strikeouts.

LAST TIME OUT (vs. Iona, 3/5/17): It was a near perfect day for baseball at Greenwood Field Sunday afternoon and the feeling carried over through nine innings as the UNC Asheville baseball team claimed the home-opening three-game series over Iona with a 4-2 victory. It was a total team effort for the Bulldogs as the offense clicked on all cylinders, the pitchers kept the Iona batters on their heels for much of the game and the Asheville defense stood firm when called upon. Spencer Orr (1-0) pitched seven scoreless innings to earn his first decision of the year. The senior southpaw struck out four batters while scattering five hits. Freshman right-hander Kole Harris came on to pitch the final two innings, earning his first collegiate save in the process. For Iona, starter Joe DeRosa (0-1) was saddled with the loss as he pitched six innings, giving up eight hits and two earned runs compared to just one strikeout. The Gaels utilized five different pitchers in the contest. The action got going in the bottom of the fourth inning when reigning Big South Conference Freshman of the Week Brandon Lankford singled to right field, scoring senior Joe Tietjen from second after the Bulldogs' centerfielder stole second. Two batters later, Jake Madole grounded out to the third baseman, but not before Lankford raced home to put Asheville up 2-0. The Bulldogs then scored a pair of insurance runs, one in the seventh and the other in the eighth, to go up 4-0. In the seventh, Danny Wilson reached base safely on a fielder's choice as the shortstop fielded the ball and threw Lankford out at second. In the process, Carmine Pagano cruised home, setting the score at 3-0. The eighth inning saw freshman catcher Joe Gruszka steal third after singling up the middle to lead off the frame. The Iona catcher attempted to catch the speedster stealing, but overthrew his third baseman, allowing Gruszka to race home for the Bulldogs' fourth run of the game. Thanks to a Chris Troost single through the left side two batters later, Gruszka's run was earned. The Gaels attempted to mount a comeback in the top of the ninth, scoring two runs with just one out. But Harris and the Bulldog defense quickly shut the threat down to secure the series win. Four Bulldogs finished the game with multi-hit outings. Tietjen and Derek Smith both went 2-for-3 at the plate with Tietjen scoring one run. Wilson and Gruszka both went 2-for-4. Wilson added an RBI and Gruszka scored a run. Matt Byrne was the lone Gael to secure multiple hits on the day as he went 2-for-2 at the dish. Seth Hoegland had two RBIs.

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs return home this weekend for their second three-game series at Greenwood Field in as many weeks. Asheville will host the Retrievers of UMBC in a 3 p.m. game on Friday, March 10. The two teams will then play a 2 p.m. game on Saturday, March 11. The Bulldogs and Retrievers will close out the series with a 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday, March 12.

LANKFORD NAMED BIG SOUTH FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK: 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 afternoon. 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: 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 will be looking to carry over the momentum from this past weekend, especially Sunday's game. Our goal remains the same: put together nine innings of good baseball and minimize our mistakes. We did a very good job of that on Sunday against Iona. Now we will see if we can string together two games of good baseball." – Scott Friedholm

Bulldogs Travel to Appalachian State Wednesday for Mid-Week Game

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Players Mentioned

Austin Fahr

Andrew Friedholm

Greg Gasparro

Joe Gruszka

Brandon Harris

Kole Harris

Brandon Lankford

Jake Madole

Spencer Orr

Carmine Pagano

Tyler Serricchio

Derek Smith

Ryan Tapp

Joe Tietjen

Chris Troost

Danny Wilson

Justin Woods

Joe Zayatz

University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics