University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
7-12, 0
USC Upstate
9-11, 0
Early Offense Lifts Baseball To Conference Series Victory Over USC Upstate
03.17.2019 | Baseball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – To earn its first Big South Conference series victory of the season, the UNC Asheville baseball team upended USC Upstate, 9-5, on Sunday to win the three-game set over the Spartans at Greenwood Field.
BULLDOG BITES
Highlights
The Spartans threatened to score in the first inning, as Jeff Taylor and Julian Rip posted two singles in the frame. However, UNC Asheville starting pitcher Greg Gasparro worked out of the jam with an inning-ending groundout.
UNC Asheville took advantage in the bottom of the first inning, as it plated six runs on four hits. Jacob Edwards started the inning with a five-pitch walk. Carmine Pagano followed with a bunt single, and Brandon Lankford forced the bases loaded following a hit by pitch. Danny Wilson made it hurt, as he cleared the bases with his double. After a wild pitch and a Jake Madole walk, Tyler Serricchio singled to plate Wilson from third to make the game 4-0. Kole Harris added to that lead, as the junior utility player knocked a two-RBI single to take the six-run lead.
USC Upstate made it a two-run game in the top of the second, as it scored four runs off two hits and an error. Taylor hit a bases-clearing, three-RBI triple to give Upstate its first runs of the game. Andres Kim plated his teammate to make the game 6-4.
Gasparro worked his first 1-2-3 inning in the top of the third to hold the Spartans off the scoreboard.
UNC Asheville capitalized with two runs in the home half of the frame. Dominic Freeberger collected a two-out, RBI single, which pushed the lead to three, 7-4. On the next pitch, Pagano touched home easily on a wild pitch to pull ahead by four runs.
Gasparro really started to find his groove on the mound for the next three innings, as he only allowed one Spartan hit. He was eventually pulled in the sixth inning with 99 pitches under his belt. Eric Whitecavage came in to pitch and used just four pitches to strikeout the final batter and keep the Spartans scoreless in the sixth.
Lankford added to Asheville's lead in the bottom of the sixth, as the junior connected with an opposite field solo home run. The blast was his eighth of the season, and he now moves into a three-way tie for sixth in the NCAA DI for home runs this season.
UNC Asheville threatened to add insurance in the bottom of the eighth, but USC Upstate used two pitchers to leave the bases loaded and hold the Bulldogs scoreless in the inning.
USC Upstate tried to mount a rally in the top of the ninth, as Garett Wallace connected with a leadoff solo home run to make it a 9-5 game. However, Wilson minimized the damage to earn his first career save.
Gasparro (1-3) earned his first win of the season, while Jacob Thiessen (1-3) was pinned with the loss.
Eight of the nine Bulldogs in the starting lineup earned a hit on Sunday, including two players collecting multiple hits - Wilson and Madole.
Wilson finished the game going 2-for-4 with two RBIs, a walk and a run scored. He collected a two-RBI double in the six-run first inning for Asheville. Wilson also twirled three innings of relief, where he allowed one run on four hits. He also struck out one en route to his first career save.
Madole went 2-for-4 from the plate, as both of hits were singles. He also scored once.
Lankford smacked a home run and walked a team-high three times.
Edwards and Pagano each tallied a hit and touched home twice.
Gasparro finished the outing with 5.2 innings of work. He allowed three earned runs, scattered five hits and struck out three.
Whitecavage tossed only four pitches and struck out the only batter he faced to end the sixth inning.
With the win, UNC Asheville moves to 7-12 on the year and 2-1 in Big South games. USC Upstate falls to 9-11 on the season and 2-1 in league contests.
What's Next?
UNC Asheville will take several days off before returning to the diamond on Friday, March 22, as the Bulldogs will square off with Campbell in Buies Creek, N.C.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gasparro, Greg (1-3)
L: THIESSEN, Jacob (1-3)
S: Wilson, Danny (1)
Batting:
3B: TAYLOR, Jeff 1
HR: WALLACE, Garett 1
RBI: TAYLOR, Jeff 3 ; WALLACE, Garett 1
SH: ZITO, Griffin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: MATTHEWS, Jason 1 ; TAYLOR, Jeff 1 ; STEPHENSON, Stone 1 ; WALLACE, Garett 2
Batting:
2B: Wilson, Danny 1
HR: Lankford, Brandon 1
RBI: Freeberger, Dominic 1 ; Lankford, Brandon 1 ; Wilson, Danny 2 ; Serricchio, Tyler 1 ; Harris, Kole 2
SH: Edwards, Jacob 1 ; Pagano, Carmine 1 ; Troost, Chris 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Edwards, Jacob 2 ; Pagano, Carmine 2 ; Freeberger, Dominic 1 ; Lankford, Brandon 1 ; Wilson, Danny 1 ; Madole, Jake 1 ; Serricchio, Tyler 1
SB: Friedholm, Andrew 1
HBP: Pagano, Carmine 1 ; Freeberger, Dominic 1
