University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Thursday, May 25
Lexington, SC
3:40 PM
UNC Asheville
vs
Presbyterian
Photo by: UNC Asheville
UNC Asheville Begins Big South Conference Championship Tuesday
05.22.2017 | Baseball
Asheville Big South Championship Notes (PDF)
LEXINGTON, S.C. – The UNC Asheville baseball team will make its first appearance in the Big South Conference Championships since the 2012 campaign this week. The Bulldogs are the No. 6 seed in the tournament held at Lexington County Baseball Stadium and will face off against third-seeded Presbyterian in game-two of the tournament, Tuesday, May 23. First pitch will be approximately 45 minutes following the conclusion of game-one of the tournament, which gets underway at 9:30 a.m.
THE 2017 BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
Location:Â Lexington, S.C. / Lexington County Baseball Stadium
When: Tuesday, May 23 – Saturday, May 27
Tournament Site: BigSouthSports.com
Tickets: BigSouthSports.com
Bracket: BigSouthSports.com
Live Video: Big South Network (Tues. – Thurs.) / ESPN3 (Fri.) / ESPNU (Sat.)
Live Stats:Â www.uncabulldogs.com
Twitter:Â @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
BULLDOG BITES
ASHEVILLE IN THE TOURNAMENT: The Bulldogs will be making their 16th appearance in the Big South Conference Championships and first since 2012. In the previous 15 trips to the tournament, the Bulldogs are 19-28 with one championship and a runner-up finish. The 2006 Bulldogs claimed the Big South crown as the No. 6 seed while the 1991 squad finished second as the sixth-seed to top-seeded Coastal Carolina. UNC Asheville has never been higher than the No. 3 seed, but has competed as all six positions from No. 3 to No. 8. The Bulldogs enter this season's tourney on a five-game skid with the last win in the post-season coming in 2008.
INSIDE THE STANDINGS: UNC Asheville, Radford and Gardner-Webb finished tied for fifth-place after the regular season with matching 11-13 records in league action. Because Gardner-Webb did not play Radford, the first tie breaker was records against highest-seeded common conference opponents. Since GWU was swept by No. 1 Winthrop this season, they fall to the No. 7 seed. Radford won the head-to-head matchup against UNC Asheville, therefore the Highlanders claim the No. 5 seed and the Bulldogs are No. 6.
UNC ASHEVILLE IN THE BIG SOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS: UNC Asheville made seven straight appearances in the league tournament from 1998 to 2004. After a one-season hiatus in 2005, the Bulldogs made three straight appearances from 2006 to 2008 and then advanced to the conference tourney in 2010 and 2012. UNC Asheville also earned berths in the 1990, 1991 and 1992 tournaments.
BULLDOGS AS THE SIX SEED: 2017 marks the sixth time the Bulldogs have earned the No. 6 seed in the league tournament. Heading into the week, UNC Asheville is 10-9 all-time as the 6-seed, including winning the 2006 crown and finishing second in 1991.
SWEET 16: UNC Asheville is making its 16th appearances in the Big South Conference Championships. In the previous 15 trips, the Bulldogs have gone 19-28, claiming the 2006 championship and finishing runners-up in 1991.
SCOUTING THE BLUE HOSE: Earlier this season, UNC Asheville took 2-of-3 from third-seeded Presbyterian (29-27, 15-9 Big South) in Clinton, S.C. The Bulldogs took game-one 4-2 and the finale 7-1 while the Blue Hose took the second game 7-4. Presbyterian won six of its last 10 games, including a three-game sweep of Charleston Southern. The Blue Hose also swept all three games from Winthrop from Friday, April 7, through Sunday, April 9. PC is led by Glen Casaceli's .329 batting average and 56 hits. Nick Guimbarda leads the team with 14 doubles while Brett Auckland has a team-high 35 runs batted in. Cletis Avery leads the team on the base paths with 18 stolen bases, the only player in double-figures for the stat. The Blue Hose will send Hayden Deal (3-4) to the mound first on Tuesday. Deal brings a 3.66 ERA and 71 strikeouts into the week.
TIETJEN EARNS SECOND ALL-CONFERENCE, ALL-ACADEMIC HONORS: Joe Tietjen earned his second Big South All-Conference honor Monday night as he picked up All-Big South Conference Honorable Mention plaudits as well as his second Big South Conference All-Academic Team honor. The annual awards were announced at a banquet held at Lexington High School to kick off the 2017 Big South Conference Baseball Championship Presented by Hardee's.
BEST REGULAR SEASON FINISH IN SOME TIME: With their 11 wins this season, the Bulldogs of UNC Asheville have posted the most conference wins since winning 12 Big South Conference contests in 2012 en route to finishing sixth in the league standings. Coincidentally, 2012 was also the last time UNC Asheville earned a berth into the Big South Conference Championships.
20-WIN SEASON: The Bulldogs are guaranteed to finish the year with at least 20 wins for the second time in the Scott Friedholm era. The Bulldogs' 23 wins are the most by a UNC Asheville team since the 2012 squad finished the year with 25 wins.
BULLDOGS WINNING 20+ GAMES: In the NCAA Division I era, only head coaches Bill Hillier, Matt Myers and Willie Stewart recorded more 20-win seasons with the Bulldogs as all three had three 20-win campaigns. Hillier's 1997, 1998 and 1999 teams finished with 20, 27 and 21 wins, respectively. Myers' 2002, 2003 and 2004 squads recorded 21, 27 and 26 wins. Stewart's 2006 Big South Conference Tournament Champions, 2007 and 2008 teams recorded 28, 22 and 24 wins. Current skipper Scott Friedholm is the only other Bulldog head coach to have multiple 20-win campaigns. The 23 wins is the ninth-most wins in program history for a single season. The 2006 team set the standard with 28 wins while the 1990 squad went 25-25.
LANKFORD'S MULTIPLE RUNS SCORED: Freshman Brandon Lankford scored three runs in Saturday's season-finale against Gardner-Webb, marking the seventh time this season he has scored multiple runs in a game.
GOING YARD: In the top of the sixth inning of the season finale at Gardner-Webb, Brandon Lankford led off by bouncing a home run off the top of the fence in left-center field. It was his team-leading ninth homer of the year.
MULTI-HIT DAY FOR TROOST: Freshman Chris Troost had his fifth multi-hit game of the season on Saturday, May 20. It was also the second multi-hit outing in two weeks for Troost as he went 3-for-3 in the series finale against Longwood on Sunday, May 14.
FINISHING STRONG: Despite dropping the last two games to Gardner-Webb, the Bulldogs have mostly been playing their best baseball as of late. UNC Asheville enters the post-season having won four of their last seven games, including a stretch of three in a row from Sunday, May 14, through Thursday, May 18. The Bulldogs also won the series over Longwood, marking the sixth series victory of the season, including taking two-of-three during a weekend in Spartanburg, S.C., from Friday, Feb. 24, through Sunday, Feb. 26.
PICKING RUNNERS OFF: In the bottom of the first inning of the game with Gardner-Webb on Friday, May 19, Justin Woods caught a GWU runner sleeping at second, picking him off. It was the senior's third pickoff of the year and UNC Asheville's 14th as a team. The three pickoffs by Woods ties freshman catcher Joe Gruszka for tops on the team.
ON THE MONEY: In the bottom of the second inning of the game against Gardner-Webb on Friday, May 19, senior right fielder Kyle Carruthers corralled in a fly ball and promptly threw home. His throw was right on the money and allowed freshman catcher Tyler Serricchio to easily tag a Gardner-Webb runner out. It was the third outfield assist of the season for Carruthers and the 16th by Asheville this season. The next day, Kole Harris had an outfield assist giving UNC Asheville 17 on the year, second in the nation only to Charleston Southern's 19.
SERRICCHIO'S MULTI-HIT OUTINGS: Friday, May 19, marked the fifth time this season that freshman catcher Tyler Serricchio notched multiple hits in a game. It was also the fourth time since Friday, May 12, against Longwood that the freshman had recorded multiple hits in a game, a stretch of six games. In that span, Serricchio batted .450 (9-for-20) with five runs scored and four doubles.
THE BULLDOGS AT HOME: For the first time since the 2012 season, UNC Asheville baseball boasts a winning record at home. This year, the Bulldogs went 12-11 at home, including last weekend's 2-1 series win over Longwood. In 2012, UNC Asheville went 13-12 in home games.
TURNING DOUBLE PLAYS: The Bulldogs have turned 46 double plays on the year, giving UNC Asheville 13 more than last season. The 2015 Bulldogs turned 57 double plays while the 2014 'Dogs rolled up 35. The Bulldogs are currently third in the Big South Conference for double plays behind Campbell and Liberty.
SAVING THE DAY: Eric Whitecavage earned his third save of the season and sixth of his career, Tuesday, May 16, against East Tennessee State. The six career saves moves him into a tie for eighth all-time in the category. He also broke into top-10 in program history for appearances in a single season when he came into the game against Gardner-Webb on Thursday, May 18.
STILL GOING: Senior Joe Tietjen homered for the 21st time in his career on Tuesday, May 16, against East Tennessee State. The two-run bomb in the top of the sixth was the seventh of the season for Tietjen. His 21 career homers has him tied for ninth all-time in program history for the category.
SWIPING BASES: When senior Joe Tietjen stole second in the bottom of the fifth inning of the game against Longwood on Friday, May 12, it marked the 18th time this season the senior center fielder has swiped a base, moving him up into sole possession of eighth all-time for stolen bases in a single season. It was also the 41st stolen base of his career. Tietjen is currently fifth all-time in career stolen bases and needs just four more to reach fourth.
LEGGING OUT THREE BASES: Senior Joe Tietjen rocketed a triple off the fence in right-center field during the game to earn his fourth three-bag hit of the season. He now has seven for his career and is tied for sixth all-time in the program history. Tietjen's four triples on the year is tied for sixth-most in program history for a single season.
TIETJEN LEAVING HIS MARK: Senior center fielder Joe Tietjen is currently in the top-10 in program history in 10 offensive categories, including eight for career stats and two for single season stats. Tietjen enters the tournament fifth all-time with 42 career stolen bases. He is also sixth with 138 runs scored and tied for sixth with seven career triples, seventh with 320 total bases, eighth with 121 runs batted in, ninth with 42 doubles and tied for ninth with 21 career home runs. He also cracked the top-10 for at-bats last weekend against Gardner-Webb and sits 10th with 673 career at-bats. This season, Tietjen is tied for sixth all-time for triples in a single season (4) and is sixth out-right with 19 stolen bases.
NEXT MARKS TO REACH: Joe Tietjen needs three more stolen bases to move into a tie for fourth all-time for stolen bases in a career and is just one away from tying fourth for stolen bases in a single season. He is just three runs scored and one triple away from fifth all-time in both categories and his next triple would move him into a tie for fifth all-time for three-baggers in a single season. Tietjen is six bases away from sixth all-time, two RBIs away from seventh and is one double away from a tie for seventh. He is three home runs away from a two-way tie for seventh. He is also just four hits away from cracking the top-10 for hits in a career and needs just five walks to do the same in that category.
WALKING UP THE RANKS: Danny Wilson moved up another spot in the UNC Asheville baseball record book for walks in a single season as he drew a walk last weekend against Longwood. The walk was the 39th of the season for the sophomore, moving him into a tie for seventh all-time for walks in a single season. He needs just one more walk to claim sole possession of seventh and two more to move into a tie for fourth. First-year student assistant coach Pete Guy holds the program record for most walks in a single season with 53 last year.
WILSON WALKING NATIONALLY: Danny Wilson's 39 bases on balls this season has him currently tied for 31st in the nation in the category. He is also 47th in all of NCAA Division I with 0.79 walks drawn per game.
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CONTROLLING THE SERIES WITH ETSU OF LATE: The win over East Tennessee State on Tuesday, May 16, was the fifth win in the last six meetings between the two. The Bulldogs are now 5-1 against ETSU under head coach Scott Friedholm.
WALK IT OFF: The series finale against Radford on Sunday, May 7, was the second time this season that the Bulldogs have won in walk-off fashion. Coincidentally, the last time the Bulldogs won in walk-off fashion, it was also on a Sunday and it was in the series finale with Charleston Southern when UNC Asheville won 2-1 in the ninth.
BREAKING THE TREND: The Bulldogs broke another trend on Sunday, May 7, against Radford. The win in the series finale ended a 23-game winning streak by the Highlanders over the Bulldogs. Prior to Sunday, the Bulldogs hadn't beaten Radford since the 2008 campaign.
FANNING BATTERS: On Sunday, May 7, the six UNC Asheville pitchers struck out 22 batters between the two games of the doubleheader with Radford.
WINNING THE SERIES OVER CAMPBELL: The 11-9 win over Campbell on Sunday, April 23, marked the first time since the 1990 campaign that a UNC Asheville baseball team claimed a Big South Conference series in Buies Creek, N.C. That year, the Bulldogs swept the Camels en route to finishing 25-25 overall and 8-9 in conference play, finishing third in the league standings. Due to the way the conference schedules baseball series, the Bulldogs and Camels had not played each other since the 2014 season. The Bulldogs' 10-5 win over the Camels in the first game of the series on Friday, April 21, marked the first win in the overall series for UNC Asheville since the second game of a three-game series with Campbell in 2012.
EFFECTIVE PINCH HITTER: Joe Zayatz saw just three pitches in the series finale against Charleston Southern on Sunday, April 9, 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.
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.
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.
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QUOTABLES
"This is a great opportunity for the program and this will be a great experience for our players. Hopefully, we learn from this as we move forward as a program." – Scott Friedholm
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LEXINGTON, S.C. – The UNC Asheville baseball team will make its first appearance in the Big South Conference Championships since the 2012 campaign this week. The Bulldogs are the No. 6 seed in the tournament held at Lexington County Baseball Stadium and will face off against third-seeded Presbyterian in game-two of the tournament, Tuesday, May 23. First pitch will be approximately 45 minutes following the conclusion of game-one of the tournament, which gets underway at 9:30 a.m.
THE 2017 BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
Location:Â Lexington, S.C. / Lexington County Baseball Stadium
When: Tuesday, May 23 – Saturday, May 27
Tournament Site: BigSouthSports.com
Tickets: BigSouthSports.com
Bracket: BigSouthSports.com
Live Video: Big South Network (Tues. – Thurs.) / ESPN3 (Fri.) / ESPNU (Sat.)
Live Stats:Â www.uncabulldogs.com
Twitter:Â @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
BULLDOG BITES
ASHEVILLE IN THE TOURNAMENT: The Bulldogs will be making their 16th appearance in the Big South Conference Championships and first since 2012. In the previous 15 trips to the tournament, the Bulldogs are 19-28 with one championship and a runner-up finish. The 2006 Bulldogs claimed the Big South crown as the No. 6 seed while the 1991 squad finished second as the sixth-seed to top-seeded Coastal Carolina. UNC Asheville has never been higher than the No. 3 seed, but has competed as all six positions from No. 3 to No. 8. The Bulldogs enter this season's tourney on a five-game skid with the last win in the post-season coming in 2008.
INSIDE THE STANDINGS: UNC Asheville, Radford and Gardner-Webb finished tied for fifth-place after the regular season with matching 11-13 records in league action. Because Gardner-Webb did not play Radford, the first tie breaker was records against highest-seeded common conference opponents. Since GWU was swept by No. 1 Winthrop this season, they fall to the No. 7 seed. Radford won the head-to-head matchup against UNC Asheville, therefore the Highlanders claim the No. 5 seed and the Bulldogs are No. 6.
UNC ASHEVILLE IN THE BIG SOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS: UNC Asheville made seven straight appearances in the league tournament from 1998 to 2004. After a one-season hiatus in 2005, the Bulldogs made three straight appearances from 2006 to 2008 and then advanced to the conference tourney in 2010 and 2012. UNC Asheville also earned berths in the 1990, 1991 and 1992 tournaments.
BULLDOGS AS THE SIX SEED: 2017 marks the sixth time the Bulldogs have earned the No. 6 seed in the league tournament. Heading into the week, UNC Asheville is 10-9 all-time as the 6-seed, including winning the 2006 crown and finishing second in 1991.
SWEET 16: UNC Asheville is making its 16th appearances in the Big South Conference Championships. In the previous 15 trips, the Bulldogs have gone 19-28, claiming the 2006 championship and finishing runners-up in 1991.
SCOUTING THE BLUE HOSE: Earlier this season, UNC Asheville took 2-of-3 from third-seeded Presbyterian (29-27, 15-9 Big South) in Clinton, S.C. The Bulldogs took game-one 4-2 and the finale 7-1 while the Blue Hose took the second game 7-4. Presbyterian won six of its last 10 games, including a three-game sweep of Charleston Southern. The Blue Hose also swept all three games from Winthrop from Friday, April 7, through Sunday, April 9. PC is led by Glen Casaceli's .329 batting average and 56 hits. Nick Guimbarda leads the team with 14 doubles while Brett Auckland has a team-high 35 runs batted in. Cletis Avery leads the team on the base paths with 18 stolen bases, the only player in double-figures for the stat. The Blue Hose will send Hayden Deal (3-4) to the mound first on Tuesday. Deal brings a 3.66 ERA and 71 strikeouts into the week.
TIETJEN EARNS SECOND ALL-CONFERENCE, ALL-ACADEMIC HONORS: Joe Tietjen earned his second Big South All-Conference honor Monday night as he picked up All-Big South Conference Honorable Mention plaudits as well as his second Big South Conference All-Academic Team honor. The annual awards were announced at a banquet held at Lexington High School to kick off the 2017 Big South Conference Baseball Championship Presented by Hardee's.
BEST REGULAR SEASON FINISH IN SOME TIME: With their 11 wins this season, the Bulldogs of UNC Asheville have posted the most conference wins since winning 12 Big South Conference contests in 2012 en route to finishing sixth in the league standings. Coincidentally, 2012 was also the last time UNC Asheville earned a berth into the Big South Conference Championships.
20-WIN SEASON: The Bulldogs are guaranteed to finish the year with at least 20 wins for the second time in the Scott Friedholm era. The Bulldogs' 23 wins are the most by a UNC Asheville team since the 2012 squad finished the year with 25 wins.
BULLDOGS WINNING 20+ GAMES: In the NCAA Division I era, only head coaches Bill Hillier, Matt Myers and Willie Stewart recorded more 20-win seasons with the Bulldogs as all three had three 20-win campaigns. Hillier's 1997, 1998 and 1999 teams finished with 20, 27 and 21 wins, respectively. Myers' 2002, 2003 and 2004 squads recorded 21, 27 and 26 wins. Stewart's 2006 Big South Conference Tournament Champions, 2007 and 2008 teams recorded 28, 22 and 24 wins. Current skipper Scott Friedholm is the only other Bulldog head coach to have multiple 20-win campaigns. The 23 wins is the ninth-most wins in program history for a single season. The 2006 team set the standard with 28 wins while the 1990 squad went 25-25.
LANKFORD'S MULTIPLE RUNS SCORED: Freshman Brandon Lankford scored three runs in Saturday's season-finale against Gardner-Webb, marking the seventh time this season he has scored multiple runs in a game.
GOING YARD: In the top of the sixth inning of the season finale at Gardner-Webb, Brandon Lankford led off by bouncing a home run off the top of the fence in left-center field. It was his team-leading ninth homer of the year.
MULTI-HIT DAY FOR TROOST: Freshman Chris Troost had his fifth multi-hit game of the season on Saturday, May 20. It was also the second multi-hit outing in two weeks for Troost as he went 3-for-3 in the series finale against Longwood on Sunday, May 14.
FINISHING STRONG: Despite dropping the last two games to Gardner-Webb, the Bulldogs have mostly been playing their best baseball as of late. UNC Asheville enters the post-season having won four of their last seven games, including a stretch of three in a row from Sunday, May 14, through Thursday, May 18. The Bulldogs also won the series over Longwood, marking the sixth series victory of the season, including taking two-of-three during a weekend in Spartanburg, S.C., from Friday, Feb. 24, through Sunday, Feb. 26.
PICKING RUNNERS OFF: In the bottom of the first inning of the game with Gardner-Webb on Friday, May 19, Justin Woods caught a GWU runner sleeping at second, picking him off. It was the senior's third pickoff of the year and UNC Asheville's 14th as a team. The three pickoffs by Woods ties freshman catcher Joe Gruszka for tops on the team.
ON THE MONEY: In the bottom of the second inning of the game against Gardner-Webb on Friday, May 19, senior right fielder Kyle Carruthers corralled in a fly ball and promptly threw home. His throw was right on the money and allowed freshman catcher Tyler Serricchio to easily tag a Gardner-Webb runner out. It was the third outfield assist of the season for Carruthers and the 16th by Asheville this season. The next day, Kole Harris had an outfield assist giving UNC Asheville 17 on the year, second in the nation only to Charleston Southern's 19.
SERRICCHIO'S MULTI-HIT OUTINGS: Friday, May 19, marked the fifth time this season that freshman catcher Tyler Serricchio notched multiple hits in a game. It was also the fourth time since Friday, May 12, against Longwood that the freshman had recorded multiple hits in a game, a stretch of six games. In that span, Serricchio batted .450 (9-for-20) with five runs scored and four doubles.
THE BULLDOGS AT HOME: For the first time since the 2012 season, UNC Asheville baseball boasts a winning record at home. This year, the Bulldogs went 12-11 at home, including last weekend's 2-1 series win over Longwood. In 2012, UNC Asheville went 13-12 in home games.
TURNING DOUBLE PLAYS: The Bulldogs have turned 46 double plays on the year, giving UNC Asheville 13 more than last season. The 2015 Bulldogs turned 57 double plays while the 2014 'Dogs rolled up 35. The Bulldogs are currently third in the Big South Conference for double plays behind Campbell and Liberty.
SAVING THE DAY: Eric Whitecavage earned his third save of the season and sixth of his career, Tuesday, May 16, against East Tennessee State. The six career saves moves him into a tie for eighth all-time in the category. He also broke into top-10 in program history for appearances in a single season when he came into the game against Gardner-Webb on Thursday, May 18.
STILL GOING: Senior Joe Tietjen homered for the 21st time in his career on Tuesday, May 16, against East Tennessee State. The two-run bomb in the top of the sixth was the seventh of the season for Tietjen. His 21 career homers has him tied for ninth all-time in program history for the category.
SWIPING BASES: When senior Joe Tietjen stole second in the bottom of the fifth inning of the game against Longwood on Friday, May 12, it marked the 18th time this season the senior center fielder has swiped a base, moving him up into sole possession of eighth all-time for stolen bases in a single season. It was also the 41st stolen base of his career. Tietjen is currently fifth all-time in career stolen bases and needs just four more to reach fourth.
LEGGING OUT THREE BASES: Senior Joe Tietjen rocketed a triple off the fence in right-center field during the game to earn his fourth three-bag hit of the season. He now has seven for his career and is tied for sixth all-time in the program history. Tietjen's four triples on the year is tied for sixth-most in program history for a single season.
TIETJEN LEAVING HIS MARK: Senior center fielder Joe Tietjen is currently in the top-10 in program history in 10 offensive categories, including eight for career stats and two for single season stats. Tietjen enters the tournament fifth all-time with 42 career stolen bases. He is also sixth with 138 runs scored and tied for sixth with seven career triples, seventh with 320 total bases, eighth with 121 runs batted in, ninth with 42 doubles and tied for ninth with 21 career home runs. He also cracked the top-10 for at-bats last weekend against Gardner-Webb and sits 10th with 673 career at-bats. This season, Tietjen is tied for sixth all-time for triples in a single season (4) and is sixth out-right with 19 stolen bases.
NEXT MARKS TO REACH: Joe Tietjen needs three more stolen bases to move into a tie for fourth all-time for stolen bases in a career and is just one away from tying fourth for stolen bases in a single season. He is just three runs scored and one triple away from fifth all-time in both categories and his next triple would move him into a tie for fifth all-time for three-baggers in a single season. Tietjen is six bases away from sixth all-time, two RBIs away from seventh and is one double away from a tie for seventh. He is three home runs away from a two-way tie for seventh. He is also just four hits away from cracking the top-10 for hits in a career and needs just five walks to do the same in that category.
WALKING UP THE RANKS: Danny Wilson moved up another spot in the UNC Asheville baseball record book for walks in a single season as he drew a walk last weekend against Longwood. The walk was the 39th of the season for the sophomore, moving him into a tie for seventh all-time for walks in a single season. He needs just one more walk to claim sole possession of seventh and two more to move into a tie for fourth. First-year student assistant coach Pete Guy holds the program record for most walks in a single season with 53 last year.
WILSON WALKING NATIONALLY: Danny Wilson's 39 bases on balls this season has him currently tied for 31st in the nation in the category. He is also 47th in all of NCAA Division I with 0.79 walks drawn per game.
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CONTROLLING THE SERIES WITH ETSU OF LATE: The win over East Tennessee State on Tuesday, May 16, was the fifth win in the last six meetings between the two. The Bulldogs are now 5-1 against ETSU under head coach Scott Friedholm.
WALK IT OFF: The series finale against Radford on Sunday, May 7, was the second time this season that the Bulldogs have won in walk-off fashion. Coincidentally, the last time the Bulldogs won in walk-off fashion, it was also on a Sunday and it was in the series finale with Charleston Southern when UNC Asheville won 2-1 in the ninth.
BREAKING THE TREND: The Bulldogs broke another trend on Sunday, May 7, against Radford. The win in the series finale ended a 23-game winning streak by the Highlanders over the Bulldogs. Prior to Sunday, the Bulldogs hadn't beaten Radford since the 2008 campaign.
FANNING BATTERS: On Sunday, May 7, the six UNC Asheville pitchers struck out 22 batters between the two games of the doubleheader with Radford.
WINNING THE SERIES OVER CAMPBELL: The 11-9 win over Campbell on Sunday, April 23, marked the first time since the 1990 campaign that a UNC Asheville baseball team claimed a Big South Conference series in Buies Creek, N.C. That year, the Bulldogs swept the Camels en route to finishing 25-25 overall and 8-9 in conference play, finishing third in the league standings. Due to the way the conference schedules baseball series, the Bulldogs and Camels had not played each other since the 2014 season. The Bulldogs' 10-5 win over the Camels in the first game of the series on Friday, April 21, marked the first win in the overall series for UNC Asheville since the second game of a three-game series with Campbell in 2012.
EFFECTIVE PINCH HITTER: Joe Zayatz saw just three pitches in the series finale against Charleston Southern on Sunday, April 9, 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.
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.
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.
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QUOTABLES
"This is a great opportunity for the program and this will be a great experience for our players. Hopefully, we learn from this as we move forward as a program." – Scott Friedholm
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/ 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