University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Wofford
Bulldog Baseball Hosts Wofford Tuesday for Bark in the Park
04.10.2017 | Baseball
Asheville-Midweek Notes (PDF)
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Coming off the emotional 2-1 walk-off win on Sunday, the UNC Asheville baseball team will host Wofford in the second half of a home-and-home series. The Bulldogs and Terriers will renew their rivalry on Tuesday, April 11, at Greenwood Field with a 6 p.m. first pitch. The game will also serve as Bark in the Park Night for UNC Asheville with the athletics department accepting donations of dog food for the Brother Wolf Animal Rescue.
THE MATCHUPS
Teams:Â UNC Asheville (13-18) vs. Wofford (17-16)
Location:Â Asheville, N.C. / Greenwood Field
When:Â Tuesday, April 11 / 6 p.m.
Live Video:Â Big South Network
Live Stats:Â www.uncabulldogs.com
Twitter:Â @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
Promotions: Bark in the Park
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.
BARK IN THE PARK: Tuesday's game against Wofford is being billed as Bark in the Park night. All fans are invited to bring their dogs to Greenwood Field during the event. Bulldog Athletics will be collecting dog food donations for Brother Wolf Animal Rescue.
INSIDE THE SERIES: Tuesday's game will be the 43rd meeting between UNC Asheville and Wofford. Including the meeting earlier this season, a game the Bulldogs won 7-6, UNC Asheville is 23-19 all-time against Wofford. In the last five meetings, Asheville owns a slight advantage at 3-2.
SCOUTING THE TERRIERS: Since the two teams last met on Sunday, Feb. 26, in Spartanburg, Wofford has gone 15-11, including 4-3 in midweek games and three midweek series victories. The Terriers swept three games over Villanova in that stretch. On the year, Wofford is 5-5 on the road, but have won their last five road games, including a neutral-site game against Presbyterian in Greenville, S.C., at Fluor Field. On the season, McClain Bradley leads the team with a .382 batting average, but he has only played in 18 of the Terriers' 33 games. Brett Hash, who is the only player on Wofford's team to start every game, boasts a .326 batting average in 129 at-bats. He leads the team with 42 hits, including nine doubles and eight home runs, and also leads the team with 26 runs scored and 26 runs batted in. Reed Massey is the Terriers' biggest threat once on base as he has stolen 14 bases this season with Carson Waln close behind with 11. The Terriers will send Chris Sheehan to the mound to start the game. Sheehan is 2-0 on the year in seven appearances, including just one start, and boasts a 2.70 ERA. In 10 innings of work, he has given up 11 hits and seven runs, three of which have been earned, while striking out seven batters.
THE LAST TIME THESE TWO MET (Feb. 26, 2017): Justin Woods just about did it all during the Bulldogs' week in Spartanburg. On Sunday, Feb. 26, he added to his already impressive week as he came on to pitch the final two innings against Wofford to earn the 7-6 win on the mound for the UNC Asheville baseball team, including striking out the final batter of the game. The Bulldogs fell behind 5-0 through the first two innings, but remained resilient and responded in a big way late in the game. Asheville began the comeback by scoring single runs in the third and fourth frames. Carmine Pagano got things going when he hit a shot to center field in the third inning, scoring Danny Wilson from third and in the next inning, Wilson doubled down the right field line to score Brandon Lankford and set the score at 5-2. Wofford scored a run in the bottom of the fifth, but starter Spencer Orr, Woods and the Bulldog defense didn't allow another run from there, including retiring 10 straight batters at one point late in the game. Asheville then did what they have done a lot of early in the season, scoring in bunches. Only this time it came at the end of the game, not at the beginning. In the eighth frame, the Bulldogs plated three runs, including two off a Lankford homer that also scored Chris Troost. Later in the inning, with bases loaded, Kole Harris drew a walk and pushed Woods across the plate to pull the Bulldogs to within one. Wofford was able to delay the inevitable by getting out of the eighth, but in the ninth, the Bulldogs struck again, this time for two runs. Tanner Bush hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Derek Smith to tie the game and then, with bases loaded, Joe Gruszka wore a pitch and pushed Lankford across for the go-ahead run. Despite being ahead, the heroics were not done as Wofford got a runner aboard in the bottom of the ninth, but Gruszka gunned the pinch runner out at second, setting Woods up to record the final out via strikeout. At the plate, Lankford led the way with a 2-for-4 performance, including scoring three runs and batting in two more. The freshman third baseman now has three home runs and eight RBIs on the season. Wilson and Andrew Friedholm also both had two hits in the game with Wilson going 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI while Friedholm went 2-for-3 at the dish. Orr had a solid day as the Bulldogs' starter, pitching seven innings that saw the senior southpaw strike out six batters. Woods (1-0) then came on for the final two innings, striking out two batters and giving up just one hit. Wofford relied on seven pitchers in the game with starter Austin Higginbotham pitching 6.2 innings while giving up six hits and two earned runs. Grant Byers (0-1) ended up being the pitcher of record.
SHOWING IMPROVEMENT: At this point last season, the 2016 Bulldogs were 9-22 and had two series wins to their credit. This season, UNC Asheville has shown solid improvements as they are 13-18 with series wins over Iona, UMBC and Presbyterian as well as taking two of three during the tournament in Spartanburg in the second weekend of the year. The 2016 Bulldogs had also been swept three times to this point last season whereas this year's Bulldogs have taken at least one game in each of their weekend series, and had opportunities to claim three of their dropped series.
CANNONS FOR ARMS IN THE OUTFIELD: UNC Asheville boasts 13 outfield assists on the year. The mark has the Bulldogs third in the country in the category. Joe Tietjen leads the outfielders with four assists, a mark that has him tied for fifth in the nation in the category. Danny Wilson and Justin Woods both have three assists in the outfield. Kyle Carruthers has two and Tanner Bush has one.
TIETJEN LEAVING HIS MARK: Senior center fielder Joe Tietjen has moved into top-10 in program history in six offensive categories with at least 22 games left on the year. Tietjen moved into a tie for fifth all-time this weekend with 38 career stolen bases. He is also ninth with 111 career RBIs and tied for ninth in career runs scored (125) and career doubles (37). Tietjen is tied for 10th in program history with six triples and is also tied for 10th with 19 home runs.
NEXT MARKS TO REACH: Joe Tietjen needs just one more stolen base to claim sole possession of fifth all-time in swiped bases and is seven away from fourth. He is just one run scored away from eighth and three away from seventh in the category. With his next double, Tietjen will be in sole possession of ninth all-time in the category and needs six more to reach a two-way tie for seventh. His next triple will move him into a tie for sixth all-time. He is just two home runs away from ninth all-time and is nine runs batted in away from moving into a tie for eighth.
ORR MOWING THEM DOWN: Spencer Orr was spectacular for UNC Asheville on Sunday afternoon, leading the Bulldogs to a 2-1 victory over Charleston Southern. The senior southpaw pitched seven scoreless innings of two-hit baseball and struck out a season-high nine batters. He struck out two batters in three different innings, including both the first and second as well as the fourth. Orr held his 26 batters faced to a .083 batting average and walked just one. For the season, Orr is sixth in the league with a 2.91 ERA, eighth with 46.1 innings pitched and tied for eighth with 42 batters struck out.
HITTING STREAKS: Three Bulldogs are currently in the midst of strong hitting streaks. Both Kyle Carruthers and Joe Tietjen enter the week riding three-game hitting streaks as both registered at least one hit in each of the three games against Charleston Southern. Danny Wilson currently leads the team with a six-game streak. Justin Woods boasts the longest hitting streak of the season as he started the year off with eight games in a row where he registered at least one hit. Earlier this year, Tietjen had a stretch of seven games with at least one hit.
EFFECTIVE PINCH HITTER: Joe Zayatz saw just three pitches Sunday afternoon, but it was the third one that proved to be the payoff pitch for him as he ripped a two-out single through the right side that gave Chris Troost just enough time to round third and race home, giving the UNC Asheville Baseball team a 2-1 victory in walk-off fashion over Charleston Southern at Greenwood Field.
TURNING DOUBLE PLAYS: UNC Asheville boasts 32 double plays on the year, an average of just over 1.03 per game.
LAST TIME OUT (vs. Charleston Southern, 4/9/17): Joe Zayatz saw just three pitches Sunday afternoon, but it was the third one that proved to be the payoff pitch for him as he ripped a two-out single through the right side that gave Chris Troost just enough time to round third and race home, giving the UNC Asheville Baseball team a 2-1 victory in walk-off fashion over Charleston Southern at Greenwood Field. Starting pitcher Spencer Orr pitched a gem of a game for the Bulldogs that saw him give up just two hits while not giving up a run. The senior southpaw struck out a season-high nine batters and walked just one while facing 26 batters. Eric Whitecavage (2-0) came on to pitch the final two innings, and despite giving up the tying run in the top of the ninth, was able to record his second win of the season. Whitecavage also gave up just two hits and struck out two of the eight batters he faced. The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third when Danny Wilson singled up the middle to swap places with Kyle Carruthers who singled in the at-bat prior and then made it to second off a passed ball. Wilson then advanced to second as the Charleston Southern center fielder attempted to throw Carruthers out at home. The game progressed scoreless for the next five full innings as Orr and the Bulldog defense continued to shut down the previously potent Charleston Southern offense. The Buccaneers scored the tying run in the top of the ninth when Ryan Brown, pinch running for Brandon Gragilla, scored off a single to center field by Mike Sconzo. With the game all tied up, Daniel Johnson retired the first two Bulldog batters he faced before Troost laced a single to shallow center field. Andrew Friedholm then drew a five-pitch walk, forcing a pitching change by Charleston Southern. While the change on the mound occurred, the Bulldogs made a change of their own, going with Zayatz to keep the streak going. Zayatz took full advantage of the situation as he ripped a no-doubt single between the first and second basemen. At the same time, Troost took off like a sprinter out of the starting blocks and never hesitated as he rounded third and slid safely into home. The earned run given up was the first of the season by Cody Smith. Wilson, who finished the weekend batting .545 with six hits, one home run and three runs batted in, led UNC Asheville with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate.
UP NEXT: UNC Asheville will play eight of their next nine games on the road beginning this weekend with a three-game Big South Conference series at High Point. The series will commence on Thursday, April 13, with a 6 p.m. game against the Panthers. On Friday, April 14, the Bulldogs and Panthers will play at 7 p.m. with the game airing on ESPN3. It will be the second time this season that UNC Asheville baseball will have been featured on the ESPN family of networks. The two will close out the series on Saturday, April 15, at 2 p.m.
FIRST CAREER HOME RUNS: Joe Gruszka came in to pinch hit for UNC Asheville in the top of the ninth against Richmond on Sunday, April 2, and made the most of his at-bat, ripping a two-run home run to left field. The homer was the first of his collegiate career. He joined Jake Madole, Brandon Lankford, Kole Harris and Tyler Serricchio as players who have hit their first collegiate homer so far this season.
WOODS SAVING THE DAY: Justin Woods recorded his fourth save of the season on Friday, March 24, against Presbyterian as he pitched the final inning in the Bulldogs' 4-2 victory over the Blue Hose. He is tied for fourth in the Big South Conference with his four saves on the year.
TAKE A LITTLE OFF THE TOP: Win the game, lose the hair. That was the recipe for success on Wednesday, March 29, as the UNC Asheville baseball team worked to raise donations for a special cause in an attempt to capture a bigger victory than the 5-3 win over Western Carolina at McCormick Field. The Bulldogs held their annual Vs. Cancer Game at the historic baseball venue located in downtown Asheville. It was the fifth year of the event and it was possibly the biggest one yet. Over the previous four years, UNC Asheville baseball has raised close to $24,000. As of the most recent count, the Bulldogs had collected over $9,200 in 2017 alone, with hopes to add to that total throughout the rest of the season. The over $9,200 raised has UNC Asheville currently fifth in the nation amongst baseball programs that are raising money for the worthy cause of battling childhood cancer. The money raised will be donated to the Vs. Cancer Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Raleigh. The foundation, which operates on a 50/50 model of giving, raises funds for childhood cancer research as well as helps children live more comfortably during treatments at local children's hospitals. Vs. Cancer gives half of the proceeds raised to pediatric brain tumor research and the other half goes back to a local hospital in the community where the money was raised. For UNC Asheville, that is Mission Children's Hospital.
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 need to carry over the momentum from Sunday's win into our game against Wofford. They have been playing well as of late, so it will be another good chance for us to play a quality opponent." – Scott Friedholm
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