University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Saturday, May 27
Lexington, SC
4 PM
UNC Asheville
25-32
2
vs
7
Radford
26-30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
UNC Asheville
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
2
6
1
Radford
0
2
0
0
1
3
0
1
X
7
12
0
Photo by: UNC Asheville
Sixth-Seeded Bulldogs’ Impressive Run Comes to an End With 7-2 Loss to No. 5 Seed Radford in Tournament Semifinal
05.27.2017 | Baseball
LEXINGTON, S.C. – The magical run came to an end for UNC Asheville baseball Saturday afternoon as the sixth-seeded Bulldogs fell 7-2 to fifth-seeded Radford in the semifinal round of the 2017 Big South Conference Baseball Championship Presented by Hardee's at Lexington County Baseball Stadium.
The Bulldogs (25-32) put together an impressive run this season and did something that a Bulldog team had not accomplished since the 2007 season: win two games in the postseason conference tourney to advance to the semifinal round.
UNC Asheville sees its season come to an end with 25 wins on the year, tied for sixth-most in program history and the most since the 2004 team won 26. Along the way, the Bulldogs were never swept and won critical games by answering the call just about every day.
But Saturday afternoon, after eliminating No. 7 seed Gardner-Webb earlier in the day, the Bulldogs ran into a solid Radford (26-30) team that put together strong pitching, good hitting and rock-solid defense to improve to 3-0 in the conference tournament, earning a spot in Sunday's championship game.
UNC Asheville put up a fight to the very end of the game, collecting six hits against two strong pitchers with six different players collecting a hit, including two solo home runs from freshmen Kole Harris and Tyler Serricchio. Danny Wilson, Justin Woods, Kyle Carruthers and Brandon Lankford all also garnered hits in the game.
Radford scored two runs off a two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning to take an early lead, but UNC Asheville answered the bell in the top of the fifth when Harris blasted a two-out, solo home run to cut the deficit to one. It was the second homer of the freshman's young career.
However, in the bottom of the very same inning, Radford extended the lead back out to two with a single run. Another runner attempted to round third and head for home, but Carruthers hit Chris Troost for a cutoff and Troost sent a laser home to Serricchio who applied the tag, ending the threat.
Despite the hiccup in momentum for the Highlanders, Radford came back in the bottom of the sixth to score three more runs, taking a 6-1 lead.
Serricchio attempted to spur a late-game comeback for the Bulldogs with a solo shot of his own in the top of the seventh, but Radford's defense kept finding ways to make plays and the offense scored an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Serricchio's homer in the seventh was the second of his career.
On the mound, Wilson (L, 1-2) put together a good start in five innings of work before giving way to Woods and Jesse Juday. Juday closed out the game for the Bulldogs with two strikeouts and a pair of assists in two innings of work.
Radford's Cameron Fritz (W, 4-2) earned the win, pitching the first five innings before Evan Threehouse (S, 1) came on to close things out for the final four frames. Both pitchers gave up just one earned run and three hits.
BULLDOG BITES
END TO A STRONG CAREER: Joe Tietjen was one of four senior Bulldogs to end their careers at UNC Asheville this weekend. Tietjen ends his time in blue and white with his name etched in the UNC Asheville record book in 11 different statistical categories, including eight career marks. Tiejen finished his time: fifth in stolen bases (42), sixth in runs scored (140), tied for sixth in triples (7), seventh for total bases (322), eighth for runs batted in (121), ninth in at-bats (688) and doubles (42) and tied for ninth in home runs (21). He also is sixth for stolen bases in a single season this year (19) and tied for sixth in triples (4) in 2017 while his junior campaign in 2016 is fourth in runs batted in (55).
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 morning against Gardner-Webb. The walk was the 41st of the season for the sophomore, moving him into a four-way 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.
MULTIPLE HOMERS: UNC Asheville's two home runs Saturday against Radford marked the eighth time this season that the Bulldogs collected two homers in a game. It was the first time it had happened since April 2 at Richmond.
PICKING RUNNERS OFF: Saturday afternoon against Radford, Justin Woods picked off a runner at second. It was the senior's fourth pickoff of the year, a mark that leads the team. As a team, the Bulldogs picked off 17 runners in 2017.
TURNING DOUBLE PLAYS: The Bulldogs turned 47 double plays on the year, including one Saturday against Radford. UNC Asheville ends the season with 14 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.
BULLDOGS AS THE SIX SEED: 2017 marked the sixth time the Bulldogs had earned the No. 6 seed in the league tournament. After the 2017 campaign, UNC Asheville is 12-11 all-time as the 6-seed, including winning the 2006 crown, finishing second in 1991 and advancing to the semifinal round in 2017.
ASHEVILLE IN THE TOURNAMENT: The Bulldogs wrapped up play 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 finished 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 2004 squad finished the year with 26 wins. The 2012 and 1990 teams also finished their campaigns with 25 victories.
QUOTABLES
"There is only one happy team at the end of a tournament. Unfortunately, our run ended today to a good Radford team. I'm proud of the fight we showed all year and in Lexington. We thank the seniors for their efforts, and hope the returners learned from this experience and that it makes us better in the future." - Scott Friedholm
The Bulldogs (25-32) put together an impressive run this season and did something that a Bulldog team had not accomplished since the 2007 season: win two games in the postseason conference tourney to advance to the semifinal round.
UNC Asheville sees its season come to an end with 25 wins on the year, tied for sixth-most in program history and the most since the 2004 team won 26. Along the way, the Bulldogs were never swept and won critical games by answering the call just about every day.
But Saturday afternoon, after eliminating No. 7 seed Gardner-Webb earlier in the day, the Bulldogs ran into a solid Radford (26-30) team that put together strong pitching, good hitting and rock-solid defense to improve to 3-0 in the conference tournament, earning a spot in Sunday's championship game.
UNC Asheville put up a fight to the very end of the game, collecting six hits against two strong pitchers with six different players collecting a hit, including two solo home runs from freshmen Kole Harris and Tyler Serricchio. Danny Wilson, Justin Woods, Kyle Carruthers and Brandon Lankford all also garnered hits in the game.
Radford scored two runs off a two-run home run in the bottom of the second inning to take an early lead, but UNC Asheville answered the bell in the top of the fifth when Harris blasted a two-out, solo home run to cut the deficit to one. It was the second homer of the freshman's young career.
However, in the bottom of the very same inning, Radford extended the lead back out to two with a single run. Another runner attempted to round third and head for home, but Carruthers hit Chris Troost for a cutoff and Troost sent a laser home to Serricchio who applied the tag, ending the threat.
Despite the hiccup in momentum for the Highlanders, Radford came back in the bottom of the sixth to score three more runs, taking a 6-1 lead.
Serricchio attempted to spur a late-game comeback for the Bulldogs with a solo shot of his own in the top of the seventh, but Radford's defense kept finding ways to make plays and the offense scored an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Serricchio's homer in the seventh was the second of his career.
On the mound, Wilson (L, 1-2) put together a good start in five innings of work before giving way to Woods and Jesse Juday. Juday closed out the game for the Bulldogs with two strikeouts and a pair of assists in two innings of work.
Radford's Cameron Fritz (W, 4-2) earned the win, pitching the first five innings before Evan Threehouse (S, 1) came on to close things out for the final four frames. Both pitchers gave up just one earned run and three hits.
BULLDOG BITES
END TO A STRONG CAREER: Joe Tietjen was one of four senior Bulldogs to end their careers at UNC Asheville this weekend. Tietjen ends his time in blue and white with his name etched in the UNC Asheville record book in 11 different statistical categories, including eight career marks. Tiejen finished his time: fifth in stolen bases (42), sixth in runs scored (140), tied for sixth in triples (7), seventh for total bases (322), eighth for runs batted in (121), ninth in at-bats (688) and doubles (42) and tied for ninth in home runs (21). He also is sixth for stolen bases in a single season this year (19) and tied for sixth in triples (4) in 2017 while his junior campaign in 2016 is fourth in runs batted in (55).
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 morning against Gardner-Webb. The walk was the 41st of the season for the sophomore, moving him into a four-way 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.
MULTIPLE HOMERS: UNC Asheville's two home runs Saturday against Radford marked the eighth time this season that the Bulldogs collected two homers in a game. It was the first time it had happened since April 2 at Richmond.
PICKING RUNNERS OFF: Saturday afternoon against Radford, Justin Woods picked off a runner at second. It was the senior's fourth pickoff of the year, a mark that leads the team. As a team, the Bulldogs picked off 17 runners in 2017.
TURNING DOUBLE PLAYS: The Bulldogs turned 47 double plays on the year, including one Saturday against Radford. UNC Asheville ends the season with 14 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.
BULLDOGS AS THE SIX SEED: 2017 marked the sixth time the Bulldogs had earned the No. 6 seed in the league tournament. After the 2017 campaign, UNC Asheville is 12-11 all-time as the 6-seed, including winning the 2006 crown, finishing second in 1991 and advancing to the semifinal round in 2017.
ASHEVILLE IN THE TOURNAMENT: The Bulldogs wrapped up play 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 finished 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 2004 squad finished the year with 26 wins. The 2012 and 1990 teams also finished their campaigns with 25 victories.
QUOTABLES
"There is only one happy team at the end of a tournament. Unfortunately, our run ended today to a good Radford team. I'm proud of the fight we showed all year and in Lexington. We thank the seniors for their efforts, and hope the returners learned from this experience and that it makes us better in the future." - Scott Friedholm
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: FRITZ, Cameron (4-2)
L: Wilson, Danny (1-2)
S: THREEHOUSE, Evan (1)
Batting:
HR: Serricchio, Tyler 1 ; Harris, Kole 1
RBI: Serricchio, Tyler 1 ; Harris, Kole 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Serricchio, Tyler 1 ; Harris, Kole 1
Batting:
2B: GONZALEZ, Jonathan 1 ; HORWITZ, Spencer 1
3B: WISE, Luke 1
HR: MIANO, Anthony 1
RBI: BUTLER, Kyle 2 ; ROTH, Matt 1 ; MIANO, Anthony 2
SH: BUTLER, Kyle 1 ; MIANO, Anthony 1
SF: ROTH, Matt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HORWITZ, Spencer 2 ; MIANO, Anthony 1 ; PODARAS, Straton 1 ; DE LA CRUZ, Richard 1 ; WISE, Luke 2
SB: BUTLER, Kyle 1 ; HRBEK, Danny 1 ; DE LA CRUZ, Richard 1 ; WISE, Luke 1
PO: PODARAS, Straton 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
p/1b
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
lf/p
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
INF/RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballINF/RHP
/ BaseballOF/RHP
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