University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Saturday, May 27
Lexington, SC
10:00 AM
UNC Asheville
25-31
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Gardner-Webb
25-30
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UNC Asheville
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Photo by: UNC Asheville
Sixth-Seeded Bulldogs Advance to Semifinal Round on ESPNU with 6-3 Win over Gardner-Webb
05.27.2017 | Baseball
Tournament Site – BigSouthSports.com
Tournament Bracket – BigSouthSports.com
Tickets – BigSouthSports.com
LEXINGTON, S.C. – The run continued Saturday morning for the UNC Asheville baseball team as the sixth-seeded Bulldogs claimed a 6-3 win over seventh-seeded Gardner-Webb in an elimination game at Lexington County Baseball Stadium in the 2017 Big South Conference Baseball Championship Presented by Hardee's.
With the 25th win of the season, the Bulldogs (25-31) advance to the semifinal round where they will play No. 5 seed Radford on ESPNU. The game will air at 4 p.m. Gardner-Webb (25-30) sees its season come to a close.
In the bottom of the fourth, UNC Asheville edged out to a 1-0 lead as Brandon Lankford scored from second off a double by Andrew Friedholm, but Gardner-Webb tied things up and then took a 2-1 lead in the top of the next inning.
UNC Asheville retook the lead, 6-2 in the bottom of the seventh in a big way with five runs off five hits and a critical Gardner-Webb error.
Chris Troost drew the score even at two-all when he scored off a Gardner-Webb error that saw the third baseman overthrow his first baseman, throwing the ball into the GWU dugout. Troost reached safely earlier in the inning with a single to center field and advanced into scoring position off a sacrifice bunt by Carmine Pagano.
After the Runnin' Bulldogs intentionally walked Joe Tietjen, Justin Woods made them pay with a double to center field, scoring both Danny Wilson and Tietjen, giving Asheville a 4-2 lead.
Gardner-Webb made a pitching change, but that did little to slow the drive as Lankford ripped a two-out RBI single down the left field line, scoring Woods from second. Two at-bats later, Kole Harris doubled down the same side, scoring Lankford.
In the top of the next frame, Gardner-Webb got a run back with a solo homer to lead things off, but the UNC Asheville defense didn't bend any further and then held the Runnin' Bulldogs to a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth to clinch the victory.
Harris (W, 2-0) came on to pitch in the seventh inning for UNC Asheville after starting as the Bulldogs' designated hitter. Harris pitched the final two and one-third innings, giving up just three hits and one run while striking out two and walking none. Nick Boyles started the game on the bump and pitched a strong first 4.2 frames, striking out three Runnin' Bulldogs. Blake Brown pitched two innings of scoreless ball before giving way to Harris.
Wil Sellers (L, 4-4) was the pitcher of record for Gardner-Webb, going 3.1 innings after Isaac Campbell started the game and pitched the first three innings.
At the plate, Lankford and Friedholm both had multi-hit outings with Lankford picking up right where he left off on Friday, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a run batted in. Friedholm went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
For the Runnin' Bulldogs, Paul Trick and Collin Thacker both had two hits and an RBI while Chandler Redmond had a solo home run.
BULLDOG BITES
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 Saturday against Gardner-Webb. The walk was the 41st of the season for the sophomore, moving him into a four-way tie for fourth. His next walk will give him sole possession of fourth and he needs three more to tie third. First-year student assistant coach Pete Guy holds the program record for most walks in a single season with 53 last year.
ASHEVILLE IN THE TOURNAMENT: The Bulldogs are playing in their 16th Big South Conference Championship and first since 2012. The Bulldogs' 2-1 win over Liberty on Friday broke a six-game skid in the league tournament as the Bulldogs hadn't won in the postseason tourney since 2008. It was also the 20th win for UNC Asheville in the postseason tournament. Saturday's win over Gardner-Webb marked the first time since the 2007 season that UNC Asheville has won at least two games in a postseason tourney.
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' 25 wins are the most by a UNC Asheville team since the 2012 squad finished the year with 25 wins. The 2004 and 2000 squads both earned 26 wins on their campaigns.
UP NEXT
The sixth-seeded Bulldogs (25-31) will now play fifth-seeded Radford (25-30) in a semifinal game at 4 p.m. on ESPNU.
QUOTABLES
"First of all, our pitching staff with Nick Boyles, Blake Brown and Kole Harris did a great job keeping down probably the most offensive team in this tournament to only three runs. They did a tremendous job. Defensively, I thought we played great as we didn't give away any extra bases and then offensively, we had plenty of chances early. We were just a little bit tight and didn't come up with that big hit. But when Justin Woods had that big backside double, you could see the faces relax and we were just able to get back to playing baseball the way we know how to. Now we have a quick turnaround to face a good Radford team and I am excited to see how we can respond to this situation." – Scott Friedholm
Tournament Bracket – BigSouthSports.com
Tickets – BigSouthSports.com
LEXINGTON, S.C. – The run continued Saturday morning for the UNC Asheville baseball team as the sixth-seeded Bulldogs claimed a 6-3 win over seventh-seeded Gardner-Webb in an elimination game at Lexington County Baseball Stadium in the 2017 Big South Conference Baseball Championship Presented by Hardee's.
With the 25th win of the season, the Bulldogs (25-31) advance to the semifinal round where they will play No. 5 seed Radford on ESPNU. The game will air at 4 p.m. Gardner-Webb (25-30) sees its season come to a close.
In the bottom of the fourth, UNC Asheville edged out to a 1-0 lead as Brandon Lankford scored from second off a double by Andrew Friedholm, but Gardner-Webb tied things up and then took a 2-1 lead in the top of the next inning.
UNC Asheville retook the lead, 6-2 in the bottom of the seventh in a big way with five runs off five hits and a critical Gardner-Webb error.
Chris Troost drew the score even at two-all when he scored off a Gardner-Webb error that saw the third baseman overthrow his first baseman, throwing the ball into the GWU dugout. Troost reached safely earlier in the inning with a single to center field and advanced into scoring position off a sacrifice bunt by Carmine Pagano.
After the Runnin' Bulldogs intentionally walked Joe Tietjen, Justin Woods made them pay with a double to center field, scoring both Danny Wilson and Tietjen, giving Asheville a 4-2 lead.
Gardner-Webb made a pitching change, but that did little to slow the drive as Lankford ripped a two-out RBI single down the left field line, scoring Woods from second. Two at-bats later, Kole Harris doubled down the same side, scoring Lankford.
In the top of the next frame, Gardner-Webb got a run back with a solo homer to lead things off, but the UNC Asheville defense didn't bend any further and then held the Runnin' Bulldogs to a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth to clinch the victory.
Harris (W, 2-0) came on to pitch in the seventh inning for UNC Asheville after starting as the Bulldogs' designated hitter. Harris pitched the final two and one-third innings, giving up just three hits and one run while striking out two and walking none. Nick Boyles started the game on the bump and pitched a strong first 4.2 frames, striking out three Runnin' Bulldogs. Blake Brown pitched two innings of scoreless ball before giving way to Harris.
Wil Sellers (L, 4-4) was the pitcher of record for Gardner-Webb, going 3.1 innings after Isaac Campbell started the game and pitched the first three innings.
At the plate, Lankford and Friedholm both had multi-hit outings with Lankford picking up right where he left off on Friday, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a run batted in. Friedholm went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
For the Runnin' Bulldogs, Paul Trick and Collin Thacker both had two hits and an RBI while Chandler Redmond had a solo home run.
BULLDOG BITES
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 Saturday against Gardner-Webb. The walk was the 41st of the season for the sophomore, moving him into a four-way tie for fourth. His next walk will give him sole possession of fourth and he needs three more to tie third. First-year student assistant coach Pete Guy holds the program record for most walks in a single season with 53 last year.
ASHEVILLE IN THE TOURNAMENT: The Bulldogs are playing in their 16th Big South Conference Championship and first since 2012. The Bulldogs' 2-1 win over Liberty on Friday broke a six-game skid in the league tournament as the Bulldogs hadn't won in the postseason tourney since 2008. It was also the 20th win for UNC Asheville in the postseason tournament. Saturday's win over Gardner-Webb marked the first time since the 2007 season that UNC Asheville has won at least two games in a postseason tourney.
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' 25 wins are the most by a UNC Asheville team since the 2012 squad finished the year with 25 wins. The 2004 and 2000 squads both earned 26 wins on their campaigns.
UP NEXT
The sixth-seeded Bulldogs (25-31) will now play fifth-seeded Radford (25-30) in a semifinal game at 4 p.m. on ESPNU.
QUOTABLES
"First of all, our pitching staff with Nick Boyles, Blake Brown and Kole Harris did a great job keeping down probably the most offensive team in this tournament to only three runs. They did a tremendous job. Defensively, I thought we played great as we didn't give away any extra bases and then offensively, we had plenty of chances early. We were just a little bit tight and didn't come up with that big hit. But when Justin Woods had that big backside double, you could see the faces relax and we were just able to get back to playing baseball the way we know how to. Now we have a quick turnaround to face a good Radford team and I am excited to see how we can respond to this situation." – Scott Friedholm
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Harris, Kole (2-0)
L: SELLERS, W. (4-4)
Batting:
2B: THACKER, C. 2
HR: REDMOND, C. 1
RBI: TRICK, P. 1 ; THACKER, C. 1 ; REDMOND, C. 1
SH: McGUIRE, P 1
Base Running:
RUNS: TRICK, P. 1 ; REDMOND, C. 1 ; DUGAN, M. 1
SB: TRICK, P. 1
HBP: DUGAN, M. 1
Batting:
2B: Woods, Justin 1 ; Friedholm, Andrew 1 ; Harris, Kole 1
RBI: Woods, Justin 2 ; Lankford, Brandon 1 ; Friedholm, Andrew 1 ; Harris, Kole 1
SH: Pagano, Carmine 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wilson, Danny 1 ; Tietjen, Joe 1 ; Woods, Justin 1 ; Lankford, Brandon 2 ; Troost, Chris 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
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RHP
/ BaseballC
/ Baseball
INF/RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballINF/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