University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Wednesday, May 5
Clinton, SC
3 p.m.
UNC Asheville
at
Presbyterian
Photo by: Mark Godin
Baseball Opens Week at Presbyterian Tuesday
05.03.2021 | Baseball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville baseball team will travel to Presbyterian on Tuesday for a midweek Big South matchup. Tuesday's contest, which is a result of postponed series earlier this season, is scheduled to get underway at 3:30 p.m.
Probable Pitching Matchup
Blake Little (AVL) vs. Alex Flood (PC)
Last Time Out – Asheville dropped three games on the road at Campbell over the weekend. With those results, the Bulldogs currently have a record of 13-24 overall and 12-17 in Big South play.
Playing the Hits – Two of the most consistent hitters in Asheville's lineup all season long have been Dominic Freeberger and Brandon Lankford. Both Freeberger (tied for fourth – 47 hits) and Lankford (tied for third – 49 hits) rank among the top five batters in the Big South in terms of hits. If either Bulldog finishes the 2021 campaign leading the league in hits, they will become just the second Asheville player ever to do so, joining Brian Shehan, who led the Big South with 67 hits in 1989.
Turning Two – A strength for Asheville in 2021 has been its ability to get out of jams thanks to the double play. Among Big South schools, the Bulldogs rank second in the league with 26 double plays turned. Only Campbell's 31 outrank Asheville in this category.
Succeeding with Runners in Scoring Position – Asheville won three series and seven games overall in April, and a big reason why was its production with runners in scoring position. As a team, the Bulldogs hit .309 in those situations. It was not just one player either, as seven different Bulldogs picked up four hits or more in those spots in the month. Wade Chandler and MJ Lucas led these efforts with six hits apiece in those situations.
Prep for Presbyterian – The Bulldogs and Blue Hose matched up a week ago at Greenwood Field, with Asheville coming away with the 6-2 victory. In 2021, Asheville has won three of the five matchups between these two programs. If the Bulldogs can knock off the Blue Hose again on Tuesday, it will mark the first time Asheville has won the season series vs. PC since 2016.
Production vs. PC – Several Bulldog have enjoyed success against the Blue Hose in the season series. Lankford leads the offense hitting .421 with six runs scored, two home runs, five RBI with an OPS of 1.237. Kohl Abrams (.364), MJ Lucas (.353 with three home runs), and Wade Chandler (.313) also boast averages over .300 vs. PC pitchers in 2021.
On the pitching side, the trio of Trey Jernigan, Blake Little, and Isaac Gonzales have fared the best. Jernigan, who picked up the save in last Tuesday's win, has held PC hitters to a .120 batting average in seven innings pitched with five strikeouts. Little and Gonzales, meanwhile, have combined for 6.1 innings with no earned runs allowed.
Probable Pitching Matchup
Blake Little (AVL) vs. Alex Flood (PC)
Last Time Out – Asheville dropped three games on the road at Campbell over the weekend. With those results, the Bulldogs currently have a record of 13-24 overall and 12-17 in Big South play.
Playing the Hits – Two of the most consistent hitters in Asheville's lineup all season long have been Dominic Freeberger and Brandon Lankford. Both Freeberger (tied for fourth – 47 hits) and Lankford (tied for third – 49 hits) rank among the top five batters in the Big South in terms of hits. If either Bulldog finishes the 2021 campaign leading the league in hits, they will become just the second Asheville player ever to do so, joining Brian Shehan, who led the Big South with 67 hits in 1989.
Turning Two – A strength for Asheville in 2021 has been its ability to get out of jams thanks to the double play. Among Big South schools, the Bulldogs rank second in the league with 26 double plays turned. Only Campbell's 31 outrank Asheville in this category.
Succeeding with Runners in Scoring Position – Asheville won three series and seven games overall in April, and a big reason why was its production with runners in scoring position. As a team, the Bulldogs hit .309 in those situations. It was not just one player either, as seven different Bulldogs picked up four hits or more in those spots in the month. Wade Chandler and MJ Lucas led these efforts with six hits apiece in those situations.
Prep for Presbyterian – The Bulldogs and Blue Hose matched up a week ago at Greenwood Field, with Asheville coming away with the 6-2 victory. In 2021, Asheville has won three of the five matchups between these two programs. If the Bulldogs can knock off the Blue Hose again on Tuesday, it will mark the first time Asheville has won the season series vs. PC since 2016.
Production vs. PC – Several Bulldog have enjoyed success against the Blue Hose in the season series. Lankford leads the offense hitting .421 with six runs scored, two home runs, five RBI with an OPS of 1.237. Kohl Abrams (.364), MJ Lucas (.353 with three home runs), and Wade Chandler (.313) also boast averages over .300 vs. PC pitchers in 2021.
On the pitching side, the trio of Trey Jernigan, Blake Little, and Isaac Gonzales have fared the best. Jernigan, who picked up the save in last Tuesday's win, has held PC hitters to a .120 batting average in seven innings pitched with five strikeouts. Little and Gonzales, meanwhile, have combined for 6.1 innings with no earned runs allowed.
Players Mentioned
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