University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Wednesday, May 10
Chapel Hill, NC
6 PM
UNC Asheville
at
North Carolina
UNC Asheville Heads to Third-Ranked North Carolina Wednesday
05.09.2017 | Baseball
Asheville-North Carolina Notes (PDF)
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville baseball team will play one midweek game this week, traveling to third-ranked North Carolina on Wednesday, May 10. First pitch of the game is slated for 6 p.m. with the game being featured on ACC Network Extra and the WatchESPN app.
THE MATCHUP
Teams:Â UNC Asheville (19-26) at #3 North Carolina (37-9)
Location:Â Chapel Hill, N.C. / Boshamer Stadium
When:Â Wednesday, May 10 / 6 p.m.
Live Video:Â ACC Network Extra / WatchESPN App
Live Stats:Â www.uncabulldogs.com
Twitter:Â @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
BULLDOG BITES
BULLDOG BASEBALL ON THE ESPN FAMILY OF NETWORKS: UNC Asheville will be featured on the ESPN family of networks for the third time this season Wednesday. The game against the No. 3 Tar Heels will air on ACC Network Extra and the WatchESPN app. Earlier in the year, UNC Asheville played at N.C. State on ACC Network Extra and on ESPN3 at High Point.
INSIDE THE SERIES: Wednesday will mark the ninth meeting between the two programs with North Carolina owning an all-time series mark of 7-1 over the Bulldogs. Last season, the Bulldogs defeated North Carolina for the first time in any sport, earning a 3-2 win in Chapel Hill.
SCOUTING THE TAR HEELS: North Carolina enters Wednesday's midweek contest ranked third in the nation by every major poll. The Tar Heels play Davidson tonight, Tuesday, May 9, and are currently riding a six-game winning streak. It is the third streak of six or more wins this season for the Tar Heels. North Carolina's offense features five players batting over .300, highlighted by Logan Warmoth's .330 and Tyler Lynn's .326. Warmoth leads the team with 42 runs scored, 64 hits, 14 doubles and seven home runs. He is second on the team to Brian Miller with 15 stolen bases. Miller boasts 18 stolen bases on 22 attempts. On the mound, the Tar Heels' pitching corps boasts a 2.64 team ERA, second in the ACC and fourth in the nation. 19th-year head coach Mike Fox will turn to right-hander Bo Weiss for the start on Wednesday. It will mark the first career start for the freshman. Weiss enters the week having made eight appearances on the year, pitching 7.0 innings. He holds a 2.57 ERA and has struck out six batters.
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.
FANNING BATTERS: The six UNC Asheville pitchers struck out 22 batters on Sunday, May 7, between the two games of the doubleheader with Radford.
CONTINUING HIS CLIMB: Joe Tietjen scored two runs on Sunday, May 7, giving him 134 for his career. The mark has him now sitting in sole possession of sixth all-time in program history in the category.
BREAKING THE TREND: Similar to two weekends ago when UNC Asheville broke through with the first conference series win in Buies Creek, N.C., 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.
EYE ON THE STANDINGS: With two weekends left in the regular-season, the Bulldogs are paying close attention to the Big South Conference standings. UNC Asheville currently controls its own destiny, sitting sixth with an 8-10 record in league play. The Bulldogs still have to face Longwood (10th) and Gardner-Webb (eighth) with the series against the Lancers being at home this weekend. Radford, sitting fifth in the standings, still has to face High Point and Winthrop. The Panthers are currently fourth while the Eagles are first in the league, but both series will be at home for the Highlanders, who are 9-8 at home this season. Charleston Southern (seventh) has just one Big South Conference series left, a home series against Presbyterian this weekend. The Blue Hose are currently third in the conference.
CATCHING GREEDY RUNNERS: This season, the Bulldogs have caught 30 runners attempting to steal and the pitching corps has picked off 11 runners. The 30 runners caught stealing leads the Big South Conference by two over Gardner-Webb while the 11 pickoffs is second behind Longwood's 13.
TURNING DOUBLE PLAYS: The Bulldogs have turned 38 double plays on the year, five more than all of last year. The 38 double plays is fourth-most in the Big South Conference behind Liberty (45), Campbell (44) and Gardner-Webb (39). Last season, UNC Asheville turned 33 double plays.
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.
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, sixth with 134 runs scored, ninth in program history with 117 runs batted in and 40 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 seven runs scored away from fifth all-time in program history. He is three doubles away from 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 since then he has added one more giving him 37 for the year. The 37 walks moves Wilson into a tie for ninth for walks in a single season and has him second in the league in the category. He needs just one more to move into eighth, two more to move into seventh and four more to move into a tie for fourth in program history.
RELIABLE WHITECAVAGE: Eric Whitecavage has established himself as one of the more reliable relievers in the UNC Asheville bullpen. The sophomore right-hander is third in the Big South Conference with 23 appearances. He boasts a perfect 4-0 record, a 4.67 ERA and owns one save in 34.2 innings of work.
LAST TIME OUT (vs. Radford (DH), 5/7/17): The UNC Asheville baseball team split Sunday's home Big South Conference doubleheader with Radford, falling 5-2 in game-one before taking the series finale 7-6 in 10 innings off a walk-off hit by Joe Gruszka. The loss in the day's first game gave Radford (20-25, 8-10 Big South) the series win, but the Asheville win in the finale broke a streak of 23 straight games where Radford had beaten the Bulldogs (19-26, 8-10 Big South). The streak dated back to the 2008 season when UNC Asheville won the final two games of a three-game series against Radford and continued into the first two games of this weekend.
UP NEXT: UNC Asheville returns home for the final time this weekend for a three-game Big South Conference series with Longwood. The Bulldogs and Lancers will play at 6 p.m. on both Friday, May 12, and Saturday, May 13. On Sunday, May 14, the game is slated to begin at 1 p.m. This weekend, the Bulldogs will recognize their five seniors, Kyle Carruthers, Derek Smith, Justin Woods, Joe Tietjen and Spencer Orr for their contributions to the program. UNC Asheville will also hold a special Mother's Day ceremony during the weekend's festivities.
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
"UNC is going to present us with a really great challenge. They are No. 3 in the nation for a reason and we are going to go up there and try to put together a complete game." –Scott Friedholm
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ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville baseball team will play one midweek game this week, traveling to third-ranked North Carolina on Wednesday, May 10. First pitch of the game is slated for 6 p.m. with the game being featured on ACC Network Extra and the WatchESPN app.
THE MATCHUP
Teams:Â UNC Asheville (19-26) at #3 North Carolina (37-9)
Location:Â Chapel Hill, N.C. / Boshamer Stadium
When:Â Wednesday, May 10 / 6 p.m.
Live Video:Â ACC Network Extra / WatchESPN App
Live Stats:Â www.uncabulldogs.com
Twitter:Â @ashevilledogs #ThePursuit
BULLDOG BITES
BULLDOG BASEBALL ON THE ESPN FAMILY OF NETWORKS: UNC Asheville will be featured on the ESPN family of networks for the third time this season Wednesday. The game against the No. 3 Tar Heels will air on ACC Network Extra and the WatchESPN app. Earlier in the year, UNC Asheville played at N.C. State on ACC Network Extra and on ESPN3 at High Point.
INSIDE THE SERIES: Wednesday will mark the ninth meeting between the two programs with North Carolina owning an all-time series mark of 7-1 over the Bulldogs. Last season, the Bulldogs defeated North Carolina for the first time in any sport, earning a 3-2 win in Chapel Hill.
SCOUTING THE TAR HEELS: North Carolina enters Wednesday's midweek contest ranked third in the nation by every major poll. The Tar Heels play Davidson tonight, Tuesday, May 9, and are currently riding a six-game winning streak. It is the third streak of six or more wins this season for the Tar Heels. North Carolina's offense features five players batting over .300, highlighted by Logan Warmoth's .330 and Tyler Lynn's .326. Warmoth leads the team with 42 runs scored, 64 hits, 14 doubles and seven home runs. He is second on the team to Brian Miller with 15 stolen bases. Miller boasts 18 stolen bases on 22 attempts. On the mound, the Tar Heels' pitching corps boasts a 2.64 team ERA, second in the ACC and fourth in the nation. 19th-year head coach Mike Fox will turn to right-hander Bo Weiss for the start on Wednesday. It will mark the first career start for the freshman. Weiss enters the week having made eight appearances on the year, pitching 7.0 innings. He holds a 2.57 ERA and has struck out six batters.
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.
FANNING BATTERS: The six UNC Asheville pitchers struck out 22 batters on Sunday, May 7, between the two games of the doubleheader with Radford.
CONTINUING HIS CLIMB: Joe Tietjen scored two runs on Sunday, May 7, giving him 134 for his career. The mark has him now sitting in sole possession of sixth all-time in program history in the category.
BREAKING THE TREND: Similar to two weekends ago when UNC Asheville broke through with the first conference series win in Buies Creek, N.C., 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.
EYE ON THE STANDINGS: With two weekends left in the regular-season, the Bulldogs are paying close attention to the Big South Conference standings. UNC Asheville currently controls its own destiny, sitting sixth with an 8-10 record in league play. The Bulldogs still have to face Longwood (10th) and Gardner-Webb (eighth) with the series against the Lancers being at home this weekend. Radford, sitting fifth in the standings, still has to face High Point and Winthrop. The Panthers are currently fourth while the Eagles are first in the league, but both series will be at home for the Highlanders, who are 9-8 at home this season. Charleston Southern (seventh) has just one Big South Conference series left, a home series against Presbyterian this weekend. The Blue Hose are currently third in the conference.
CATCHING GREEDY RUNNERS: This season, the Bulldogs have caught 30 runners attempting to steal and the pitching corps has picked off 11 runners. The 30 runners caught stealing leads the Big South Conference by two over Gardner-Webb while the 11 pickoffs is second behind Longwood's 13.
TURNING DOUBLE PLAYS: The Bulldogs have turned 38 double plays on the year, five more than all of last year. The 38 double plays is fourth-most in the Big South Conference behind Liberty (45), Campbell (44) and Gardner-Webb (39). Last season, UNC Asheville turned 33 double plays.
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.
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, sixth with 134 runs scored, ninth in program history with 117 runs batted in and 40 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 seven runs scored away from fifth all-time in program history. He is three doubles away from 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 since then he has added one more giving him 37 for the year. The 37 walks moves Wilson into a tie for ninth for walks in a single season and has him second in the league in the category. He needs just one more to move into eighth, two more to move into seventh and four more to move into a tie for fourth in program history.
RELIABLE WHITECAVAGE: Eric Whitecavage has established himself as one of the more reliable relievers in the UNC Asheville bullpen. The sophomore right-hander is third in the Big South Conference with 23 appearances. He boasts a perfect 4-0 record, a 4.67 ERA and owns one save in 34.2 innings of work.
LAST TIME OUT (vs. Radford (DH), 5/7/17): The UNC Asheville baseball team split Sunday's home Big South Conference doubleheader with Radford, falling 5-2 in game-one before taking the series finale 7-6 in 10 innings off a walk-off hit by Joe Gruszka. The loss in the day's first game gave Radford (20-25, 8-10 Big South) the series win, but the Asheville win in the finale broke a streak of 23 straight games where Radford had beaten the Bulldogs (19-26, 8-10 Big South). The streak dated back to the 2008 season when UNC Asheville won the final two games of a three-game series against Radford and continued into the first two games of this weekend.
UP NEXT: UNC Asheville returns home for the final time this weekend for a three-game Big South Conference series with Longwood. The Bulldogs and Lancers will play at 6 p.m. on both Friday, May 12, and Saturday, May 13. On Sunday, May 14, the game is slated to begin at 1 p.m. This weekend, the Bulldogs will recognize their five seniors, Kyle Carruthers, Derek Smith, Justin Woods, Joe Tietjen and Spencer Orr for their contributions to the program. UNC Asheville will also hold a special Mother's Day ceremony during the weekend's festivities.
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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"UNC is going to present us with a really great challenge. They are No. 3 in the nation for a reason and we are going to go up there and try to put together a complete game." –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