University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
8-15
East Tennessee State
19-5
Bulldogs Fall In Extras, 7-6
03.27.2019 | Baseball
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Despite holding ETSU scoreless for six straight innings, the UNC Asheville baseball team fell to the Bucs in extra innings, 7-6, on Wednesday at Thomas Stadium.
BULLDOG BITES
Highlights
To kick off the game, Greg Gasparro worked a six-pitch walk for Asheville. After a Gasparro stolen base and two outs, Brandon Lankford legged out his first career triple to score his teammate without a throw.
The Bucs answered in the bottom of the first to knot the game at 1-all. The Bucs took advantage of two errors to match the Bulldogs.
To start the home half of the second, David Beam walked on five pitches. Later in the inning, Beam stole second and scored on an Ethan Shelton double to give ETSU the narrow 2-1 lead.
UNC Asheville quickly knotted the game at 2-apiece, as Danny Wilson earned a RBI ground out. Gasparro was the Bulldog that scored, as he walked earlier in the frame.
ETSU rattled off four unanswered runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings to take the 6-2 lead.
After scoreless innings for both teams in the sixth and seventh, UNC Asheville's offense erupted for four runs in the eighth to tie the game yet again, 6-6. PJ Heintz and Carmine Pagano led off the inning with back-to-back hits to put two Bulldogs on base. After two outs, Gasparro walked to force the bases loaded. Chris Troost worked a five-pitch walk to plate Heintz from third, but the biggest hit came off Jake Madole's bat, as the redshirt junior smacked a bases-clearing double. The three-RBI, extra-base hit tied the game up again.
The two teams tried to put the game away in the ninth, as both squads each had a runner on base. However, neither team plated a run, which forced extras tied at 6-6.
After two scoreless innings in the 10th and 11th, ETSU broke the tie in the 12th via a walk-off hit from Cullen Smith. The infielder smacked a RBI single, which plated the game-winning run from second base. The run ended the contest at 7-6, ETSU.
Lankford had a team-best three hits, which included his first career triple. He also walked once.
Madole and Pagano each totaled two hits each. The Bulldog duo combined for both of Asheville's doubles.
Wilson also added a hit and a RBI, while Heintz and Anthony Cuozzi each contributed a single.
UNC Asheville used 12 different pitchers in the four hour and 24 minute game. From the sixth to 12th inning, UNC Asheville held ETSU off the scoreboard. As a pitching corps, UNC Asheville struck out 14 Buccaneers. Austin Fahr headlined the pitchers, as he struck out three Bucs in his inning of relief.
UNC Asheville falls to 8-15, while ETSU advances to 19-5 on the year.
What's Next?
UNC Asheville will return to conference play for a three-game series with Longwood beginning on Friday, March 29. All three games will be streamed on BSN on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Nathanial Tate (2-0)
L: Hoopes, Hunter (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Madole, Jake 1 ; Pagano, Carmine 1
3B: Lankford, Brandon 1
RBI: Troost, Chris 1 ; Madole, Jake 3 ; Lankford, Brandon 1 ; Wilson, Danny 1
SH: Gasparro, Greg 1 ; Pagano, Carmine 1 ; Cuozzi, Anthony 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gasparro, Greg 3 ; Troost, Chris 1 ; Heintz, PJ 1 ; Pagano, Carmine 1
SB: Gasparro, Greg 1
Batting:
2B: Cullen Smith 1 ; Ethan Shelton 1
3B: Ethan Shelton 1
HR: Jackson Greer 1
RBI: Cullen Smith 2 ; Jackson Greer 1 ; Cade Gilbert 1 ; Ethan Shelton 2
SH: David Beam 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jake Lyle 3 ; Cullen Smith 1 ; Jackson Greer 1 ; David Beam 1 ; Kyle Richardson 1
SB: Jake Lyle 2 ; Ethan Cady 1 ; David Beam 1
CS: Jackson Greer 1
HBP: Kyle Richardson 1 ; Tyler Cox 1 ; Markell Graham 1
