University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Saturday, April 3
Asheville, NC
1:00 PM
UNC Asheville
7-14, 0
8
vs
5
Presbyterian
6-9, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Presbyterian
0
2
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
5
9
2
UNC Asheville
0
3
0
0
2
0
0
3
X
8
12
1
Freeberger picked up his first career win & save on the mound in Saturday's sweep of PC
Photo by: Mark Godin
Bulldogs Take Two from Presbyterian to Clinch Third Straight Series Win
04.03.2021 | Baseball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville baseball team swept a doubleheader against Presbyterian Saturday afternoon at Greenwood Field. Asheville won game one 8-5 before finishing off the day with a 7-6 victory. It marks the third straight series win for the Bulldogs after taking two of three games from Campbell and Radford the past two weekends.
Game 1 Recap – There was no shortage of offense between the Blue Hose and Bulldogs in the first game of the day as the two teams combined to score 13 runs and totaled 21 hits in the contest.
Presbyterian would get the scoring started with a two-run blast to give it the first lead of the day. Asheville would quickly answer with a two-run shot of its own as MJ Lucas connected for his first collegiate home run to even the score at two. The Bulldogs added another run on a PC error later in the inning to pull in front, 3-2.
The Blue Hose regained the lead with two runs in the fourth, while the Bulldogs threatened in loading the bases in the following half-inning but did not cash in.
Lucas, however, would come up again with a runner on in the fifth and launched his second home run of the afternoon. It marked the first multi-home run game for a Bulldog since Brandon Lankford hit two on March 9, 2019, vs. Georgia Southern.
Senior Trey Jernigan, who came in to relieve starter Jacob Edwards in the third, had an outstanding appearance out of the bullpen. Jernigan pitched a career-high 5.1 innings allowing three hits and struck out four. PC would not generate a ton of scoring chances against Jernigan, but it was able to scratch a run across in the eighth to tie the game at five. Dominic Freeberger replaced Jernigan after PC scored the tying run and got the Bulldogs out of the inning with the score still tied.
Ty Kaufman started Asheville's eighth inning with a single up the middle. Freeberger was hit by a pitch, which brought up Lankford with two runners on in a clutch situation. Lankford, who hit a walk-off home run to win a game last weekend vs. Radford delivered again, this time with a three-run shot to put the Bulldogs up 8-5.
Freeberger remained on the mound to try and shut the door in the ninth, and he did just that. The Baltimore native struck out two of the three hitters in the ninth to finish off the 8-5 victory for Asheville. In doing so, Freeberger collected his first collegiate win as a pitcher.
Game 2 Recap – The second game Saturday proved to be a back-and-forth one. Asheville got things started in the second, scoring twice on three hits. Lucas got it started with a check-swing double down the left-field line. Wade Chandler drove him in with a triple, and then Kohl Abrams plated Chandler on a squeeze bunt to stake the Bulldogs to an early 2-0 lead.
Asheville added single runs in the fourth and fifth in support of starting pitcher Kole Harris. Harris did a great job keeping the Blue Hose offense in check through the five innings allowing just two hits to go with six strikeouts. However, PC was able to get to Harris in the sixth. Following a strikeout, Presbyterian picked up a single followed by a double, home run, and triple to chase Harris from the game. Ethan Tressler was brought in to try and get the Bulldogs out of the inning. Tressler eventually did, but by the end of the inning, Asheville trailed, 5-4.
The seventh inning saw the Bulldogs mount a rally with two outs. Beginning with Freeberger being hit by a pitch, five straight Bulldogs reached. Three hits and a Blue Hose error later saw the Bulldogs pull back in front, 7-5. Justin Honeycutt and Lucas provided critical 2-out hits to drive in runs in the seventh.
Reliever Chris Banks, who entered the game in the seventh, allowed a solo home run in the eighth that shrunk the Bulldog lead to one heading to the ninth, 7-6. Freeberger, who got the win in the first game of the day, came in to relieve Banks to try and pick up the save. Freeberger had a one, two, three ninth clinch his first collegiate save and a doubleheader sweep for Asheville. Banks, meanwhile, got credit for the win improving his record to 2-0.
Things to Note
Game 1 Recap – There was no shortage of offense between the Blue Hose and Bulldogs in the first game of the day as the two teams combined to score 13 runs and totaled 21 hits in the contest.
Presbyterian would get the scoring started with a two-run blast to give it the first lead of the day. Asheville would quickly answer with a two-run shot of its own as MJ Lucas connected for his first collegiate home run to even the score at two. The Bulldogs added another run on a PC error later in the inning to pull in front, 3-2.
The Blue Hose regained the lead with two runs in the fourth, while the Bulldogs threatened in loading the bases in the following half-inning but did not cash in.
Lucas, however, would come up again with a runner on in the fifth and launched his second home run of the afternoon. It marked the first multi-home run game for a Bulldog since Brandon Lankford hit two on March 9, 2019, vs. Georgia Southern.
Senior Trey Jernigan, who came in to relieve starter Jacob Edwards in the third, had an outstanding appearance out of the bullpen. Jernigan pitched a career-high 5.1 innings allowing three hits and struck out four. PC would not generate a ton of scoring chances against Jernigan, but it was able to scratch a run across in the eighth to tie the game at five. Dominic Freeberger replaced Jernigan after PC scored the tying run and got the Bulldogs out of the inning with the score still tied.
Ty Kaufman started Asheville's eighth inning with a single up the middle. Freeberger was hit by a pitch, which brought up Lankford with two runners on in a clutch situation. Lankford, who hit a walk-off home run to win a game last weekend vs. Radford delivered again, this time with a three-run shot to put the Bulldogs up 8-5.
Freeberger remained on the mound to try and shut the door in the ninth, and he did just that. The Baltimore native struck out two of the three hitters in the ninth to finish off the 8-5 victory for Asheville. In doing so, Freeberger collected his first collegiate win as a pitcher.
Game 2 Recap – The second game Saturday proved to be a back-and-forth one. Asheville got things started in the second, scoring twice on three hits. Lucas got it started with a check-swing double down the left-field line. Wade Chandler drove him in with a triple, and then Kohl Abrams plated Chandler on a squeeze bunt to stake the Bulldogs to an early 2-0 lead.
Asheville added single runs in the fourth and fifth in support of starting pitcher Kole Harris. Harris did a great job keeping the Blue Hose offense in check through the five innings allowing just two hits to go with six strikeouts. However, PC was able to get to Harris in the sixth. Following a strikeout, Presbyterian picked up a single followed by a double, home run, and triple to chase Harris from the game. Ethan Tressler was brought in to try and get the Bulldogs out of the inning. Tressler eventually did, but by the end of the inning, Asheville trailed, 5-4.
The seventh inning saw the Bulldogs mount a rally with two outs. Beginning with Freeberger being hit by a pitch, five straight Bulldogs reached. Three hits and a Blue Hose error later saw the Bulldogs pull back in front, 7-5. Justin Honeycutt and Lucas provided critical 2-out hits to drive in runs in the seventh.
Reliever Chris Banks, who entered the game in the seventh, allowed a solo home run in the eighth that shrunk the Bulldog lead to one heading to the ninth, 7-6. Freeberger, who got the win in the first game of the day, came in to relieve Banks to try and pick up the save. Freeberger had a one, two, three ninth clinch his first collegiate save and a doubleheader sweep for Asheville. Banks, meanwhile, got credit for the win improving his record to 2-0.
Things to Note
- Before this season, Big South doubleheaders were rare except for when games had to be rescheduled due to weather. The doubleheader sweep of Presbyterian Saturday is the first time Asheville has swept a doubleheader vs. a conference foe since 2011 vs. High Point.
- With Asheville taking two of three games vs. PC, it has won three consecutive Big South series. It marks the first time the Bulldogs have taken won three straight league series since 2001.
- With the three-run home run in game one, Lankford is now just two home runs shy of tying the program's all-time home run record of 42. Lankford and current all-time home run leader Brian Shehan are the only two Bulldogs ever to slug 40 home runs in program history.
- Lucas finished Saturday's doubleheader with impressive numbers. The sophomore catcher had four hits in eight at-bats (.500 average), hit two home runs, drove in five runs and scored three times in the two games today.
- The three home runs hit by Asheville in game one is the most by the team since March 10, 2018 vs. Manhattan. In that game, Lankford also hit a three-run home run like he did on Saturday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Freeberger, Dominic (1-0)
L: DEARMAN, CLARK (0-3)
Batting:
2B: DECKER,KYLE 1
HR: LIVINGSTON, ANDREW 1
RBI: DECKER,KYLE 1 ; OUZTS, RYAN 1 ; MERKLE, KYLE 1 ; LIVINGSTON, ANDREW 2
Base Running:
RUNS: KLEIN, SEAN 1 ; VEACH,CHRIS 1 ; MERKLE, KYLE 1 ; LIVINGSTON, ANDREW 1 ; FAHR,BRODY 1
HBP: KLEIN, SEAN 1
Batting:
2B: Troost, Chris 1 ; Preslar, Grayson 1
HR: Lankford, Brandon 1 ; Lucas, MJ 2
RBI: Lankford, Brandon 3 ; Lucas, MJ 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Kaufman, Ty 1 ; Freeberger, Dominic 1 ; Lankford, Brandon 1 ; Troost, Chris 2 ; Lucas, MJ 2 ; Chandler, Wade 1
HBP: Freeberger, Dominic 1
Game Leaders
rf/lf
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
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RHP
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OF
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LHP
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INF/OF
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RHP/U
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LHP/OF
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RHP
/ BaseballINF
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RHP
/ 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