University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Wednesday, May 10
Chapel Hill, NC
6 PM
UNC Asheville
19-27
4
at
16
North Carolina
39-9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
UNC Asheville
0
0
1
0
0
2
1
0
0
4
9
1
North Carolina
3
0
2
2
0
0
3
6
X
16
15
1
Photo by: UNC Asheville
Bulldogs Fall 16-4 on the Road to Third-Ranked Tar Heels
05.10.2017 | Baseball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The UNC Asheville baseball team put forth a solid offensive effort Wednesday night, but the third-ranked Tar Heels of North Carolina proved to be too much for the Bulldogs as they claimed a 16-4 win at Boshamer Stadium.
The nationally-ranked Tar Heels jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning, but the Bulldogs cut into the deficit in the top of the third when Kyle Carruthers batted in Chris Troost with a blooper single to the second baseman. Earlier in the inning, Troost singled to reach safely before Tanner Bush and Carmine Pagano were both hit by pitches to load the bases.
In the first three innings, freshman catcher Joe Gruszka threw out three runners on the base paths. In the first and second innings, he picked off a runner at first and in the third he caught a runner attempting to steal second. The Bulldogs have now caught 31 runners attempting to steal and picked off 13 other runners.
North Carolina was able to add to the lead in the bottom of the third and fourth innings with four combined runs, two in each frame.
In the top of the sixth, Joe Gruszka singled to lead things off. In the next at-bat, Brandon Lankford ripped his team-leading 13th double of the year down the left field line. The ball traveled deep enough into the corner of the field that Gruszka rounded third and had enough time to race home for the Bulldogs' second run of the game.
After Justin Woods walked and forced a pitching change, Tanner Bush ripped a rocket that almost made its way through the right side. The Tar Heels' second baseman was able to scoop up the ball, but threw behind his pitcher covering first, allowing Bush to reach safely. As the ball escaped, Lankford rounded third and cruised home to set the score at 7-3.
In the top of the seventh, Wilson led off by drawing his 38th walk of the season. The walk moved the sophomore into a tie for eighth all-time in program history for walks in a single season. Four at-bats later, Lankford sent a single through the left side, giving Wilson enough time to round third and race home, pulling the Bulldogs to within three of the nationally-ranked Tar Heels at 7-4. It was the 34th RBI of the season and second of the game for Lankford.
Despite the momentum swinging in favor of the Bulldogs, the Tar Heels stretched the lead out to six, 10-4 in the bottom of the seventh with three runs. It marked the ninth time this season the Tar Heels have scored 10 or more runs in a single game. North Carolina scored a season-high 20 against South Carolina in Charlotte on Tuesday, April 11. UNC then plated six final runs in the bottom of the eighth to set the score at 16-4 before the defense shut down UNC Asheville's offense in the top of the ninth.
Seven different Bulldogs collected at least one hit in the game led by Lankford's 3-for-4 effort. It is the 12th time this season Lankford has recorded multiple hits in a contest and the third time this year he finished with three hits. The freshman also batted in two runs, scored one himself and ripped a double. The double was the 20th extra-base knock of the season for Lankford.
Justin Woods (L, 3-3) pitched the first inning for the Bulldogs before giving way to Ryan Tapp, Austin Fahr, Nick Boyles, Jesse Juday, Kole Harris, Brandon Harris and Derek Smith. Juday pitched two complete innings for UNC Asheville while Tapp went just over one frame at 1.1.
Bo Weiss started the game for the Heels, pitching 3.0 innings while giving up four hits and one earned run. Austin Bergner (W, 4-2) then followed with two innings of one-hit, scoreless ball to earn the win.
BULLDOG BITES
TURNING DOUBLE PLAYS: The Bulldogs turned a 5-3 double play in the bottom of the fourth inning, giving UNC Asheville 39 on the year.
CATCHING GREEDY RUNNERS: With his two pickoffs and one runner caught stealing Wednesday night, Joe Gruszka has now thrown out 16 runners on the year. He is tied with Andrew Friedholm for tops on the team with 13 runners caught stealing and leads the squad with three pickoffs on the year. As a team, UNC Asheville now boasts 31 runners caught stealing and 13 pickoffs.
WALKING UP THE RANKS: With his walk in the top of the seventh inning Wednesday night, Danny Wilson moved up a spot in the UNC Asheville baseball record book. The walk was the 38th of the season for the sophomore, moving him into a tie for eighth all-time for walks in a single season.
STREAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME: With his three hits Wednesday night, Brandon Lankford has now recorded a hit in nine straight games dating back to April 21 at Campbell. He has also recorded multiple hits in the last two games. He started the season and his collegiate career off with a 12-game hitting streak from Feb. 17 through Mar. 10.
THE BIG SOUTH VS. THE TAR HEELS: Of the Big South schools to play UNC, Liberty has been the only program to beat the Heels, claiming a 5-2 victory. Campbell lost 7-1, Gardner-Webb fell 11-1, Winthrop dropped an 11-0 decision and Radford fell in a three-game series 2-0, 9-3 and 7-5.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will next welcome Longwood to Greenwood Field for a three-game, Big South Conference series. The weekend schedule has been altered due to Friday's weather forecast. The Bulldogs and Lancers will now open the series with a 12 p.m. first pitch on Friday, May 12. On Saturday, May 13, the Bulldogs will recognize the five seniors, Kyle Carruthers, Derek Smith, Justin Woods, Joe Tietjen and Spencer Orr prior to the 6 p.m. first pitch. The two will conclude the series on Sunday, May 13, with a 1 p.m. first pitch. The Bulldogs will also hold a special Mother's Day ceremony on Sunday.
QUOTABLES
"We gave too many free baserunners to a good team tonight. We were able to work out of some jams early in the game to keep it close, but when you have to hope for outcomes, it never works out in the long run. And then we ran ourselves out of two innings. We can't play that way against the No. 3-ranked team in the country and expect anything other than what we got tonight." – Scott Friedholm
The nationally-ranked Tar Heels jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning, but the Bulldogs cut into the deficit in the top of the third when Kyle Carruthers batted in Chris Troost with a blooper single to the second baseman. Earlier in the inning, Troost singled to reach safely before Tanner Bush and Carmine Pagano were both hit by pitches to load the bases.
In the first three innings, freshman catcher Joe Gruszka threw out three runners on the base paths. In the first and second innings, he picked off a runner at first and in the third he caught a runner attempting to steal second. The Bulldogs have now caught 31 runners attempting to steal and picked off 13 other runners.
North Carolina was able to add to the lead in the bottom of the third and fourth innings with four combined runs, two in each frame.
In the top of the sixth, Joe Gruszka singled to lead things off. In the next at-bat, Brandon Lankford ripped his team-leading 13th double of the year down the left field line. The ball traveled deep enough into the corner of the field that Gruszka rounded third and had enough time to race home for the Bulldogs' second run of the game.
After Justin Woods walked and forced a pitching change, Tanner Bush ripped a rocket that almost made its way through the right side. The Tar Heels' second baseman was able to scoop up the ball, but threw behind his pitcher covering first, allowing Bush to reach safely. As the ball escaped, Lankford rounded third and cruised home to set the score at 7-3.
In the top of the seventh, Wilson led off by drawing his 38th walk of the season. The walk moved the sophomore into a tie for eighth all-time in program history for walks in a single season. Four at-bats later, Lankford sent a single through the left side, giving Wilson enough time to round third and race home, pulling the Bulldogs to within three of the nationally-ranked Tar Heels at 7-4. It was the 34th RBI of the season and second of the game for Lankford.
Despite the momentum swinging in favor of the Bulldogs, the Tar Heels stretched the lead out to six, 10-4 in the bottom of the seventh with three runs. It marked the ninth time this season the Tar Heels have scored 10 or more runs in a single game. North Carolina scored a season-high 20 against South Carolina in Charlotte on Tuesday, April 11. UNC then plated six final runs in the bottom of the eighth to set the score at 16-4 before the defense shut down UNC Asheville's offense in the top of the ninth.
Seven different Bulldogs collected at least one hit in the game led by Lankford's 3-for-4 effort. It is the 12th time this season Lankford has recorded multiple hits in a contest and the third time this year he finished with three hits. The freshman also batted in two runs, scored one himself and ripped a double. The double was the 20th extra-base knock of the season for Lankford.
Justin Woods (L, 3-3) pitched the first inning for the Bulldogs before giving way to Ryan Tapp, Austin Fahr, Nick Boyles, Jesse Juday, Kole Harris, Brandon Harris and Derek Smith. Juday pitched two complete innings for UNC Asheville while Tapp went just over one frame at 1.1.
Bo Weiss started the game for the Heels, pitching 3.0 innings while giving up four hits and one earned run. Austin Bergner (W, 4-2) then followed with two innings of one-hit, scoreless ball to earn the win.
BULLDOG BITES
TURNING DOUBLE PLAYS: The Bulldogs turned a 5-3 double play in the bottom of the fourth inning, giving UNC Asheville 39 on the year.
CATCHING GREEDY RUNNERS: With his two pickoffs and one runner caught stealing Wednesday night, Joe Gruszka has now thrown out 16 runners on the year. He is tied with Andrew Friedholm for tops on the team with 13 runners caught stealing and leads the squad with three pickoffs on the year. As a team, UNC Asheville now boasts 31 runners caught stealing and 13 pickoffs.
WALKING UP THE RANKS: With his walk in the top of the seventh inning Wednesday night, Danny Wilson moved up a spot in the UNC Asheville baseball record book. The walk was the 38th of the season for the sophomore, moving him into a tie for eighth all-time for walks in a single season.
STREAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME: With his three hits Wednesday night, Brandon Lankford has now recorded a hit in nine straight games dating back to April 21 at Campbell. He has also recorded multiple hits in the last two games. He started the season and his collegiate career off with a 12-game hitting streak from Feb. 17 through Mar. 10.
THE BIG SOUTH VS. THE TAR HEELS: Of the Big South schools to play UNC, Liberty has been the only program to beat the Heels, claiming a 5-2 victory. Campbell lost 7-1, Gardner-Webb fell 11-1, Winthrop dropped an 11-0 decision and Radford fell in a three-game series 2-0, 9-3 and 7-5.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will next welcome Longwood to Greenwood Field for a three-game, Big South Conference series. The weekend schedule has been altered due to Friday's weather forecast. The Bulldogs and Lancers will now open the series with a 12 p.m. first pitch on Friday, May 12. On Saturday, May 13, the Bulldogs will recognize the five seniors, Kyle Carruthers, Derek Smith, Justin Woods, Joe Tietjen and Spencer Orr prior to the 6 p.m. first pitch. The two will conclude the series on Sunday, May 13, with a 1 p.m. first pitch. The Bulldogs will also hold a special Mother's Day ceremony on Sunday.
QUOTABLES
"We gave too many free baserunners to a good team tonight. We were able to work out of some jams early in the game to keep it close, but when you have to hope for outcomes, it never works out in the long run. And then we ran ourselves out of two innings. We can't play that way against the No. 3-ranked team in the country and expect anything other than what we got tonight." – Scott Friedholm
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Bergner (4-2)
L: Woods, Justin (3-3)
Batting:
2B: Lankford, Brandon 1
RBI: Carruthers, Kyle 1 ; Lankford, Brandon 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Wilson, Danny 1 ; Gruszka, Joe 1 ; Lankford, Brandon 1 ; Troost, Chris 1
HBP: Pagano, Carmine 1 ; Bush, Tanner 1
Batting:
2B: Miller 1 ; Warmoth 1 ; Illies 1 ; Lynn 1 ; Riley 1
HR: McGee 1
RBI: Miller 2 ; McGee 3 ; Illies 1 ; Lynn 1 ; Ladowski 2 ; Riley 1 ; Roberts 1 ; Busch 1 ; Pate 1
SF: Miller 1 ; McGee 1 ; Roberts 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Miller 2 ; Warmoth 3 ; McGee 2 ; Freeman 1 ; Datres 1 ; Jones 1 ; Lynn 1 ; Ladowski 1 ; Riley 1 ; Roberts 1 ; Martorano 1 ; Gahagan 1
SB: Warmoth 2 ; Datres 1 ; Riley 2 ; Roberts 1
CS: Datres 1
HBP: Martorano 1 ; Busch 1
PO: Riley 1 ; Roberts 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF/RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF/RHP
/ Baseball
OF/RHP
/ BaseballHighlights || Baseball || UNC Asheville vs Presbyterian (Game 3)
Tuesday, May 28
Highlights || Baseball || UNC Asheville at Presbyterian (Game 2)
Tuesday, May 28
Highlights || Baseball || UNC Asheville at Presbyterian (Game 1)
Tuesday, May 28
Highlights || Baseball || UNC Asheville vs Gardner-Webb (Game 3)
Monday, May 13