University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Saturday, May 6
Greenwood Field
11 AM
UNC Asheville
vs
Radford
Bulldogs Host Radford in Big South Conference Series
05.04.2017 | Baseball
Asheville-Radford Series Notes (PDF)
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville baseball team will close out a four-game homestand this weekend with a three-game Big South Conference series against Radford. The Bulldogs, who enter the weekend having won three of their last five games, will tangle with the Highlanders beginning Friday, May 5, with a 7 p.m. first pitch. On Saturday, the two will play a doubleheader with the first game beginning at 2 p.m. The second game of the twinbill will follow approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of game-one.
THE MATCHUP
Teams:Â UNC Asheville (18-24, 7-8 Big South) vs. Radford (18-24, 6-9 Big South)
Location:Â Asheville, N.C. / Greenwood Field
When: Friday, May 5 – 7 PM / Saturday, May 6 – 2 PM (DH)
Live Video:Â Big South Network
Live Stats:Â www.uncabulldogs.com
Twitter:Â @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
Promotions:Â Ks for Queso
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.
CINCO DE MAYO: In celebration of Friday's game falling on Cinco de Mayo, UNC Asheville baseball will feature a special one-time only promotion: Ks for Queso. In the first game of the series against the Highlanders, if the Bulldog pitching corps registers five or more strikeouts, everyone in attendance will win a coupon for free queso from Moe's Southwestern Grill.
INSIDE THE SERIES: After controlling much of the early portion of the series with Radford during the NCAA Division I era, UNC Asheville has fallen behind and trails the Highlanders 45-41 (since 1987). Radford has won 21 in a row over the Bulldogs dating back to the 2009 season. The last UNC Asheville win came during the 2008 campaign when the Bulldogs went 2-1 against the Highlanders. The year prior, in 2007, UNC Asheville earned the sixth sweep over the Highlanders, the last time the Bulldogs have claimed a home game in the series. UNC Asheville is 17-23 all-time at home against Radford but have taken 15 series wins over the Highlanders.
SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS: Radford enters the weekend series in Asheville with an overall record of 18-24 and a Big South Conference mark of 6-9. Last weekend, the Highlanders took two of three from VMI after getting swept by Charleston Southern in their most recent league series two weekends ago. The weekend prior, the Highlanders completed a three-game sweep of Campbell on the road. Radford is led by Kyle Butler's .320 batting average, 33 runs scored, nine doubles and five sacrifice hits. Behind him, Jonathan Gonzalez bats .309 with a team-best 50 hits, including 10 home runs and 35 runs batted in. Spencer Horwitz is also batting over .300 with a .303 average that includes seven doubles and 21 runs batted in. The Highlanders will send left-hander Zack Ridgely, the 2017 Big South Conference Preseason Pitcher of the Year, to the mound in the series' first game with righty Danny Hrbek toeing the rubber in game-two. Ridgley is currently 4-5 on the year with a 2.99 ERA in 11 appearances. He leads the team with 69.1 innings of work and 59 strikeouts. Hrbek is 3-4 on the year in 11 appearances with a 5.37 ERA and has pitched 55.0 innings while striking out 34 batters.
WEEKEND ROTATION: The Bulldogs' weekend rotation will see two freshmen earning starts on the mound as well as weekend staple Spencer Orr. On Friday, freshman right-hander Blake Brown will make his second collegiate start in his 15th appearance. He enters the weekend having pitched 19.1 innings while striking out 17 batters. On Saturday, Orr is slated to get the start in game-one while fellow southpaw Greg Gasparro has been tabbed as the starter in the series finale. Orr, a senior who leads the team with 49 strikeouts on the year, will be making his 11th start of the season and the 26th start of his career. Orr is currently sixth in the Big South Conference with a 3.14 ERA and 10th with 57.1 innings of work. His 49 strikeouts have him 11th while his 15 batters retired looking is 10th in the conference. Gasparro will make his ninth start on the year in his 15th appearance. Gasparro is 3-3 on the year with a 5.03 ERA and has pitched 48.1 innings, second-most on the team behind Orr. Gasparro is also second on the team with 37 strikeouts.
TURNING THINGS AROUND: At this point last season, the 2016 Bulldogs were 15-27 and had three series wins to their credit, including two in conference. The 2016 Bullogs had also been swept four times, including dropping a pair of midweek tilts with USC Upstate, and had endured both a 10-game and five-game losing skid. This season, UNC Asheville has shown solid improvements in most facets of the game as they are 18-24, already a +3 improvement, and two more wins than all of last season. The 2017 Bulldogs also boast series wins over Iona, UMBC, Presbyterian and Campbell as well as taking two of three during the tournament in Spartanburg in the second weekend of the year. This year's Bulldogs have taken at least one game in each of their weekend series.
CANNONS FOR ARMS IN THE OUTFIELD: UNC Asheville boasts 15 outfield assists on the year. The mark has the Bulldogs second in the country in the category to Charleston Southern's 19. Joe Tietjen leads the Bulldogs' outfielders with five assists, a mark that has him tied for sixth in the nation in the category. Justin Woods now has four assists while Danny Wilson boasts three in the outfield. Kyle Carruthers has two and Tanner Bush has one.
CATCHING GREEDY RUNNERS: The game against Campbell on Friday, April 21, marked the sixth-straight game that the Bulldogs had caught at least one runner attempting to steal a base. Joe Gruszka, who gunned down six runners between the series at High Point and a home midweek tilt against USC Upstate on Tuesday, April 18, caught a Camel runner attempting to steal in the bottom of the first inning on Friday, April 21. UNC Asheville has now caught 27 runners attempting to steal this season, a +9 improvement from last season.
PICKING 'EM OFF: UNC Asheville's pitching corps is second in the Big South Conference with 10 pickoffs on the year, including one Tuesday night at home against Appalachian State when Justin Woods picked Dylan Hamel off at second in the top of the ninth. It was Woods' second pickoff in three weeks as he also picked off a runner at second in the top of the seventh two weeks ago against USC Upstate.
TURNING DOUBLE PLAYS: The Bulldogs have turned 37 double plays on the year, four more than all of last year. The 37 double plays is third-most in the Big South Conference behind only Liberty (43) and Campbell (42). Last season, UNC Asheville turned 33 double plays.
WINNING THE SERIES OVER CAMPBELL: The Bulldogs' 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.
STREAKING: Tanner Bush is currently riding a six-game hitting streak as he went 1-for-3 Tuesday night against Appalachian State. In that span, the junior outfielder has gone 8-for-20 (.400) with five runs scored, four runs batted in, four doubles and one stolen base. Between the last two games at Campbell and last week's midweek game at Furman, Bush had a double in three straight games.
A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING: Danny Wilson has done everything but catch this season for the Bulldogs. He has played six different positions including pitching, playing in the outfield as well as having played first base, shortstop and third base and he has served as the team's designated hitter. Tuesday night against App State, he pitched 3.2 innings of two-hit ball, gave up just one run and struck out six batters. At the plate, Wilson recorded a pair of hits and scored a run. After being relieved in the fourth, he logged time as the Bulldogs' designated hitter and first baseman.
IN A PINCH: Joe Gruszka came in to pinch hit for the Bulldogs in the bottom of the sixth inning, Tuesday night with the bases juiced. The freshman made the most of the opportunity as he ripped the first pitch he saw to left field, scoring Chris Troost and putting UNC Asheville ahead 3-2.
TIETJEN LEAVING HIS MARK: Senior center fielder Joe Tietjen is currently in the top-10 in program history in six offensive categories. Tietjen is currently fifth all-time with 40 career stolen bases, seventh with 132 runs scored, ninth in program history with 117 runs batted in and 39 career doubles, 10th with 20 home runs and tied for 10th with six triples. Tietjen is also currently tied for eighth all-time with 17 stolen bases this season.
NEXT MARKS TO REACH: Joe Tietjen needs five more stolen bases to move into a tie for fourth all-time in the category. He is just one run scored away from sixth and nine away from fifth all-time in program history. He is four doubles away a two-way tie for seventh and his next triple will move him into a tie for sixth all-time. He is just one home run away from ninth and is three RBIs away from eighth all-time and six away from seventh. He needs just one more stolen base to move into a tie for sixth all-time for single season bases stolen and three more to move up to fourth.
WALKING INTO THE RECORD BOOK: Sophomore Danny Wilson drew four walks in his final four at-bats on Sunday, April 23, at Campbell and drew another on Tuesday against Appalachian State, giving him 37 for the year. His 37 walks moves Wilson into the top-10 for walks in a single season as he is tied for ninth. He is also second in the league in the category. He needs just one more to move into a tie for eighth, two more to move into seventh and four more to join a three-way tie for fourth in program history. Current student assistant coach Pete Guy holds the school record for most walks drawn in a single season with 53 in 2016.
WALK THE LINE: Danny Wilson and Chris Troost have proven to be two of the most difficult batters in the Bulldogs' lineup to strike out this season as the two currently sit second and third respectively in the Big South Conference for walks drawn. Wilson, who boasts 37 total walks and an average of 0.88 per contest, is second in the league and also tied for 21st in all of NCAA Division I baseball for walks drawn. He is also tied for 26th in the nation in walks per game. Troost, who has drawn 32 walks and led the nation at one point earlier this season in walks, is tied for 56th in the nation for walks drawn and is 10th in NCAA Division I with 0.94 walks per game.
LAST TIME OUT (vs. App State, 5/2/17): Behind multi-hit performances by Carmine Pagano, Danny Wilson and Justin Woods, the UNC Asheville baseball team avenged an earlier season loss to Appalachian State with a 5-3 home victory Tuesday night at Greenwood Field. The Bulldogs scored single runs in the first and second innings before plating two in the sixth and a final insurance run in the eighth to secure the 18th win of the season and third in the last five games. In the first inning, Woods flew out to center field, but an error on the transfer allowed Wilson to tag up at second, round third and cruise home. In the next inning, Pagano ripped a single to right-center field to score Tyler Serricchio, setting the score at 2-0. App State bounced back in the top of the fourth and fifth innings with single runs to tie things up, but the Bulldogs would not be denied as Brandon Lankford and Chris Troost both scored in the sixth to put UNC Asheville back on top, this time for good. Despite another solo run in the top of the seventh, Asheville was able to edge back out to a two-run lead in the bottom of the eighth when Kyle Carruthers doubled to left-center field, scoring Pagano from second. Pagano went 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored while Wilson went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Wilson was also the Bulldogs' starting pitcher and split time on the mound, as the designated hitter and at first base. Woods went 2-for-5 and split time in left field and on the mound. App State's Matt Brill ended his night going 2-for-3 with a pair of one-run home runs. On the mound, after Wilson gave UNC Asheville 3.2 solid innings that saw him strike out six batters, Kole Harris, Greg Gasparro, Blake Brown, Nick Boyles, Woods and Austin Fahr all came on in relief. Gasparro (3-3) earned the win as he pitched one scoreless inning without giving up a hit. Fahr recorded his first save on the year, retiring the last out. The Bulldog pitchers fanned 13 Mountaineers in total. For App State, Bobby Hampton got the start and pitched the first 4.1 innings before giving way to Matt Schaeffer (1-1), who was saddled with the loss as he gave up two runs, one earned, in two-thirds of an inning.
UP NEXT: Following the three-game home series with Radford, UNC Asheville will play a midweek game at No. 3 North Carolina on Wednesday, May 10. The game between the Bulldogs and Tar Heels will air on ACC Network Extra and the WatchESPN App. It will be the third time this season that the Bulldogs will have been featured on the ESPN family of networks. Last season, UNC Asheville upended 11th-ranked North Carolina 3-2 in Chapel Hill capped by Joe Tietjen making a diving catch in the outfield to preserve the win. It was the first time any Bulldog program had ever beaten the Tar Heels.
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.
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
"This weekend should be a good challenge for us. Radford has some front line arms in their rotation that have given us trouble in the past, Zack Ridgely being number one seeing as he was the Big South Conference Preseason Pitcher of the Year. They play the game the right way: they bunt well, they run and play great defense. We are going to have to bring our best in all three games to give ourselves the chance to win this weekend." – Scott Friedholm
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ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville baseball team will close out a four-game homestand this weekend with a three-game Big South Conference series against Radford. The Bulldogs, who enter the weekend having won three of their last five games, will tangle with the Highlanders beginning Friday, May 5, with a 7 p.m. first pitch. On Saturday, the two will play a doubleheader with the first game beginning at 2 p.m. The second game of the twinbill will follow approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of game-one.
THE MATCHUP
Teams:Â UNC Asheville (18-24, 7-8 Big South) vs. Radford (18-24, 6-9 Big South)
Location:Â Asheville, N.C. / Greenwood Field
When: Friday, May 5 – 7 PM / Saturday, May 6 – 2 PM (DH)
Live Video:Â Big South Network
Live Stats:Â www.uncabulldogs.com
Twitter:Â @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
Promotions:Â Ks for Queso
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.
CINCO DE MAYO: In celebration of Friday's game falling on Cinco de Mayo, UNC Asheville baseball will feature a special one-time only promotion: Ks for Queso. In the first game of the series against the Highlanders, if the Bulldog pitching corps registers five or more strikeouts, everyone in attendance will win a coupon for free queso from Moe's Southwestern Grill.
INSIDE THE SERIES: After controlling much of the early portion of the series with Radford during the NCAA Division I era, UNC Asheville has fallen behind and trails the Highlanders 45-41 (since 1987). Radford has won 21 in a row over the Bulldogs dating back to the 2009 season. The last UNC Asheville win came during the 2008 campaign when the Bulldogs went 2-1 against the Highlanders. The year prior, in 2007, UNC Asheville earned the sixth sweep over the Highlanders, the last time the Bulldogs have claimed a home game in the series. UNC Asheville is 17-23 all-time at home against Radford but have taken 15 series wins over the Highlanders.
SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS: Radford enters the weekend series in Asheville with an overall record of 18-24 and a Big South Conference mark of 6-9. Last weekend, the Highlanders took two of three from VMI after getting swept by Charleston Southern in their most recent league series two weekends ago. The weekend prior, the Highlanders completed a three-game sweep of Campbell on the road. Radford is led by Kyle Butler's .320 batting average, 33 runs scored, nine doubles and five sacrifice hits. Behind him, Jonathan Gonzalez bats .309 with a team-best 50 hits, including 10 home runs and 35 runs batted in. Spencer Horwitz is also batting over .300 with a .303 average that includes seven doubles and 21 runs batted in. The Highlanders will send left-hander Zack Ridgely, the 2017 Big South Conference Preseason Pitcher of the Year, to the mound in the series' first game with righty Danny Hrbek toeing the rubber in game-two. Ridgley is currently 4-5 on the year with a 2.99 ERA in 11 appearances. He leads the team with 69.1 innings of work and 59 strikeouts. Hrbek is 3-4 on the year in 11 appearances with a 5.37 ERA and has pitched 55.0 innings while striking out 34 batters.
WEEKEND ROTATION: The Bulldogs' weekend rotation will see two freshmen earning starts on the mound as well as weekend staple Spencer Orr. On Friday, freshman right-hander Blake Brown will make his second collegiate start in his 15th appearance. He enters the weekend having pitched 19.1 innings while striking out 17 batters. On Saturday, Orr is slated to get the start in game-one while fellow southpaw Greg Gasparro has been tabbed as the starter in the series finale. Orr, a senior who leads the team with 49 strikeouts on the year, will be making his 11th start of the season and the 26th start of his career. Orr is currently sixth in the Big South Conference with a 3.14 ERA and 10th with 57.1 innings of work. His 49 strikeouts have him 11th while his 15 batters retired looking is 10th in the conference. Gasparro will make his ninth start on the year in his 15th appearance. Gasparro is 3-3 on the year with a 5.03 ERA and has pitched 48.1 innings, second-most on the team behind Orr. Gasparro is also second on the team with 37 strikeouts.
TURNING THINGS AROUND: At this point last season, the 2016 Bulldogs were 15-27 and had three series wins to their credit, including two in conference. The 2016 Bullogs had also been swept four times, including dropping a pair of midweek tilts with USC Upstate, and had endured both a 10-game and five-game losing skid. This season, UNC Asheville has shown solid improvements in most facets of the game as they are 18-24, already a +3 improvement, and two more wins than all of last season. The 2017 Bulldogs also boast series wins over Iona, UMBC, Presbyterian and Campbell as well as taking two of three during the tournament in Spartanburg in the second weekend of the year. This year's Bulldogs have taken at least one game in each of their weekend series.
CANNONS FOR ARMS IN THE OUTFIELD: UNC Asheville boasts 15 outfield assists on the year. The mark has the Bulldogs second in the country in the category to Charleston Southern's 19. Joe Tietjen leads the Bulldogs' outfielders with five assists, a mark that has him tied for sixth in the nation in the category. Justin Woods now has four assists while Danny Wilson boasts three in the outfield. Kyle Carruthers has two and Tanner Bush has one.
CATCHING GREEDY RUNNERS: The game against Campbell on Friday, April 21, marked the sixth-straight game that the Bulldogs had caught at least one runner attempting to steal a base. Joe Gruszka, who gunned down six runners between the series at High Point and a home midweek tilt against USC Upstate on Tuesday, April 18, caught a Camel runner attempting to steal in the bottom of the first inning on Friday, April 21. UNC Asheville has now caught 27 runners attempting to steal this season, a +9 improvement from last season.
PICKING 'EM OFF: UNC Asheville's pitching corps is second in the Big South Conference with 10 pickoffs on the year, including one Tuesday night at home against Appalachian State when Justin Woods picked Dylan Hamel off at second in the top of the ninth. It was Woods' second pickoff in three weeks as he also picked off a runner at second in the top of the seventh two weeks ago against USC Upstate.
TURNING DOUBLE PLAYS: The Bulldogs have turned 37 double plays on the year, four more than all of last year. The 37 double plays is third-most in the Big South Conference behind only Liberty (43) and Campbell (42). Last season, UNC Asheville turned 33 double plays.
WINNING THE SERIES OVER CAMPBELL: The Bulldogs' 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.
STREAKING: Tanner Bush is currently riding a six-game hitting streak as he went 1-for-3 Tuesday night against Appalachian State. In that span, the junior outfielder has gone 8-for-20 (.400) with five runs scored, four runs batted in, four doubles and one stolen base. Between the last two games at Campbell and last week's midweek game at Furman, Bush had a double in three straight games.
A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING: Danny Wilson has done everything but catch this season for the Bulldogs. He has played six different positions including pitching, playing in the outfield as well as having played first base, shortstop and third base and he has served as the team's designated hitter. Tuesday night against App State, he pitched 3.2 innings of two-hit ball, gave up just one run and struck out six batters. At the plate, Wilson recorded a pair of hits and scored a run. After being relieved in the fourth, he logged time as the Bulldogs' designated hitter and first baseman.
IN A PINCH: Joe Gruszka came in to pinch hit for the Bulldogs in the bottom of the sixth inning, Tuesday night with the bases juiced. The freshman made the most of the opportunity as he ripped the first pitch he saw to left field, scoring Chris Troost and putting UNC Asheville ahead 3-2.
TIETJEN LEAVING HIS MARK: Senior center fielder Joe Tietjen is currently in the top-10 in program history in six offensive categories. Tietjen is currently fifth all-time with 40 career stolen bases, seventh with 132 runs scored, ninth in program history with 117 runs batted in and 39 career doubles, 10th with 20 home runs and tied for 10th with six triples. Tietjen is also currently tied for eighth all-time with 17 stolen bases this season.
NEXT MARKS TO REACH: Joe Tietjen needs five more stolen bases to move into a tie for fourth all-time in the category. He is just one run scored away from sixth and nine away from fifth all-time in program history. He is four doubles away a two-way tie for seventh and his next triple will move him into a tie for sixth all-time. He is just one home run away from ninth and is three RBIs away from eighth all-time and six away from seventh. He needs just one more stolen base to move into a tie for sixth all-time for single season bases stolen and three more to move up to fourth.
WALKING INTO THE RECORD BOOK: Sophomore Danny Wilson drew four walks in his final four at-bats on Sunday, April 23, at Campbell and drew another on Tuesday against Appalachian State, giving him 37 for the year. His 37 walks moves Wilson into the top-10 for walks in a single season as he is tied for ninth. He is also second in the league in the category. He needs just one more to move into a tie for eighth, two more to move into seventh and four more to join a three-way tie for fourth in program history. Current student assistant coach Pete Guy holds the school record for most walks drawn in a single season with 53 in 2016.
WALK THE LINE: Danny Wilson and Chris Troost have proven to be two of the most difficult batters in the Bulldogs' lineup to strike out this season as the two currently sit second and third respectively in the Big South Conference for walks drawn. Wilson, who boasts 37 total walks and an average of 0.88 per contest, is second in the league and also tied for 21st in all of NCAA Division I baseball for walks drawn. He is also tied for 26th in the nation in walks per game. Troost, who has drawn 32 walks and led the nation at one point earlier this season in walks, is tied for 56th in the nation for walks drawn and is 10th in NCAA Division I with 0.94 walks per game.
LAST TIME OUT (vs. App State, 5/2/17): Behind multi-hit performances by Carmine Pagano, Danny Wilson and Justin Woods, the UNC Asheville baseball team avenged an earlier season loss to Appalachian State with a 5-3 home victory Tuesday night at Greenwood Field. The Bulldogs scored single runs in the first and second innings before plating two in the sixth and a final insurance run in the eighth to secure the 18th win of the season and third in the last five games. In the first inning, Woods flew out to center field, but an error on the transfer allowed Wilson to tag up at second, round third and cruise home. In the next inning, Pagano ripped a single to right-center field to score Tyler Serricchio, setting the score at 2-0. App State bounced back in the top of the fourth and fifth innings with single runs to tie things up, but the Bulldogs would not be denied as Brandon Lankford and Chris Troost both scored in the sixth to put UNC Asheville back on top, this time for good. Despite another solo run in the top of the seventh, Asheville was able to edge back out to a two-run lead in the bottom of the eighth when Kyle Carruthers doubled to left-center field, scoring Pagano from second. Pagano went 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored while Wilson went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Wilson was also the Bulldogs' starting pitcher and split time on the mound, as the designated hitter and at first base. Woods went 2-for-5 and split time in left field and on the mound. App State's Matt Brill ended his night going 2-for-3 with a pair of one-run home runs. On the mound, after Wilson gave UNC Asheville 3.2 solid innings that saw him strike out six batters, Kole Harris, Greg Gasparro, Blake Brown, Nick Boyles, Woods and Austin Fahr all came on in relief. Gasparro (3-3) earned the win as he pitched one scoreless inning without giving up a hit. Fahr recorded his first save on the year, retiring the last out. The Bulldog pitchers fanned 13 Mountaineers in total. For App State, Bobby Hampton got the start and pitched the first 4.1 innings before giving way to Matt Schaeffer (1-1), who was saddled with the loss as he gave up two runs, one earned, in two-thirds of an inning.
UP NEXT: Following the three-game home series with Radford, UNC Asheville will play a midweek game at No. 3 North Carolina on Wednesday, May 10. The game between the Bulldogs and Tar Heels will air on ACC Network Extra and the WatchESPN App. It will be the third time this season that the Bulldogs will have been featured on the ESPN family of networks. Last season, UNC Asheville upended 11th-ranked North Carolina 3-2 in Chapel Hill capped by Joe Tietjen making a diving catch in the outfield to preserve the win. It was the first time any Bulldog program had ever beaten the Tar Heels.
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.
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
"This weekend should be a good challenge for us. Radford has some front line arms in their rotation that have given us trouble in the past, Zack Ridgely being number one seeing as he was the Big South Conference Preseason Pitcher of the Year. They play the game the right way: they bunt well, they run and play great defense. We are going to have to bring our best in all three games to give ourselves the chance to win this weekend." – 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