University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Bulldogs Score First But Fall in Exhibition at Georgia
10.14.2018 | Baseball
ATHENS, Ga. – Despite scoring first, the UNC Asheville baseball team fell 20-7 to Georgia in the fall exhibition game on Oct. 14 at Foley Field.
BULLDOG BITES
Highlights
UNC Asheville scored a trio of runs in the second inning to take a three-run lead on Georgia. With the bases loaded, Chris Troost roped a two RBI single, and Carmine Pagano followed with a RBI base knock of his own.
Two innings later Brandon Lankford joined in on the offensive surge, as the junior cracked a two RBI double to left field.
Right-handed pitcher Blake Brown had a solid outing in the exhibition game. Highlighting the junior's outing was striking out the side in the bottom of the fifth inning.
After a short break, UNC Asheville added to its run total with a pair of runs. Asheville induced a bases-loaded walk and a sacrifice fly to pull the deficit to six, 13-7.
Georgia tallied seven runs in the final four innings to seal the victory over Asheville.
Quotables
What were some of the biggest takeaways from today's exhibition?
Head Coach Scott Friedholm: "I think the first half of today's game we played a little nervous and anxious, especially on the mound when we were doing things we don't normally do. I thought the second half we really settled down and played it like a normal baseball game. The second half of the game was a really tight game against the No. 4 team in the country last year.
"We told our guys that there were a lot of positive takeaways from today. One of the biggest aspects was having our younger guys play in a tough SEC environment and in front of a great crowd for a fall game."
What are your overall thoughts on the NCAA allowing fall exhibitions for the first time ever?
Friedholm: "Overall I think the NCAA did a really good job in allowing us (NCAA baseball teams) to play two games in the fall. Giving our guys the chance to play against someone different than ourselves made it a lot more fun."
One of the best things about today was playing 14 innings and allowing a lot of guys to play. Can you talk about how that benefits everyone on the team?
Friedholm: "I think we ended up throwing 11 or 12 arms today, and every position player played and got three or four at-bats. That is the true benefit of playing 14 innings because otherwise guys will be only getting one or two at-bats in a nine-inning game. With this format, everyone was able to get their normal at-bats, and it came against a team that is really good and will be highly ranked in 2019. Another aspect is being thrown into different situations. Playing a game against an opponent generates different situations and forces everyone to use their baseball instincts. We got a lot of good work out of this game, but we have a lot more work to do."
