University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Sunday, February 20
Blacksburg, VA
1 p.m.
UNC Asheville
0-3
4
at
10
Virginia Tech
3-0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
UNC Asheville
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
2
4
6
1
Virginia Tech
0
0
1
4
3
2
0
0
X
10
10
1
Freeberger drove in three runs & tossed a scoreless eighth inning on Sunday
Bulldogs drop series finale at Virginia Tech
02.20.2022 | Baseball
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The UNC Asheville baseball team dropped a 10-4 decision on the road at Virginia Tech on Sunday to conclude its first series of the 2022 season.
Asheville starting pitcher Bryce Fisher looked good early in Sunday's contest as the lefthander made his first collegiate start. Following two scoreless innings by Fisher, the Hokies found a spark in the third. In the third, the first three VT batters reached base thanks to a pair of walks and a single. With the bases full of Hokies, Dominic Freeberger and MJ Lucas connected on a clutch double play that looked like it provided Fisher an avenue to get out of the inning. However, an RBI single from the next VT hitter gave the Hokies the first run of the contest.
Virginia Tech continued to put patient at-bats together against Fisher in the fourth. A walk, wild pitch, a single followed by a double from VT chased Asheville's starter from the game. With the Hokies leading 2-0 with two men on base, reliever Zeus Ponder came on and struggled with his control hitting the first two batters he faced. Ponder eventually got out of the jam, but the Hokies led 5-0 after the fourth. Following the four-run fourth, Virginia Tech added three more runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to open a 10-0 lead on Asheville.
Asheville kept battling in the final innings. The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard with a pair of runs in the seventh thanks to back-to-back bases-loaded walks to make the score 10-2. Freeberger tallied a two-run single in the ninth to score Brock Mercado and Tylan Reece to wrap up the scoring in Sunday's series finale.
The offensive leaders on Sunday for Asheville were found at the top of the order. Ty Kaufman, the Bulldog leadoff hitter for the third straight game, reached base three times and drove in a run in 1-for-2 afternoon. Freeberger, who also pitched a scoreless eighth inning, went 1-for-4 with a walk and drove in three of Asheville's four runs. Corbin Lanowitz, Robbie Burnett, Michael Groves, and Wade Chandler all picked up hits in the series finale too.
On the pitching side, six different Bulldogs saw action on the mound. Fisher, who ended up taking the loss, allowed four runs on five hits in three innings. Freshman Cole Schiff pitched a scoreless seventh inning in his collegiate debut. Freeberger's shutout frame in the eighth rounded out the pitching highlights for Asheville.
The Bulldogs will be back in action on Wednesday when they visit nationally-ranked Tennessee in another non-conference matchup. The first pitch for that game is set for 4:30 p.m. on SEC Network Plus.
Asheville starting pitcher Bryce Fisher looked good early in Sunday's contest as the lefthander made his first collegiate start. Following two scoreless innings by Fisher, the Hokies found a spark in the third. In the third, the first three VT batters reached base thanks to a pair of walks and a single. With the bases full of Hokies, Dominic Freeberger and MJ Lucas connected on a clutch double play that looked like it provided Fisher an avenue to get out of the inning. However, an RBI single from the next VT hitter gave the Hokies the first run of the contest.
Virginia Tech continued to put patient at-bats together against Fisher in the fourth. A walk, wild pitch, a single followed by a double from VT chased Asheville's starter from the game. With the Hokies leading 2-0 with two men on base, reliever Zeus Ponder came on and struggled with his control hitting the first two batters he faced. Ponder eventually got out of the jam, but the Hokies led 5-0 after the fourth. Following the four-run fourth, Virginia Tech added three more runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to open a 10-0 lead on Asheville.
Asheville kept battling in the final innings. The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard with a pair of runs in the seventh thanks to back-to-back bases-loaded walks to make the score 10-2. Freeberger tallied a two-run single in the ninth to score Brock Mercado and Tylan Reece to wrap up the scoring in Sunday's series finale.
The offensive leaders on Sunday for Asheville were found at the top of the order. Ty Kaufman, the Bulldog leadoff hitter for the third straight game, reached base three times and drove in a run in 1-for-2 afternoon. Freeberger, who also pitched a scoreless eighth inning, went 1-for-4 with a walk and drove in three of Asheville's four runs. Corbin Lanowitz, Robbie Burnett, Michael Groves, and Wade Chandler all picked up hits in the series finale too.
On the pitching side, six different Bulldogs saw action on the mound. Fisher, who ended up taking the loss, allowed four runs on five hits in three innings. Freshman Cole Schiff pitched a scoreless seventh inning in his collegiate debut. Freeberger's shutout frame in the eighth rounded out the pitching highlights for Asheville.
The Bulldogs will be back in action on Wednesday when they visit nationally-ranked Tennessee in another non-conference matchup. The first pitch for that game is set for 4:30 p.m. on SEC Network Plus.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Drue Hackenberg (1-0)
L: Fisher, Bryce (0-1)
Batting:
RBI: Kaufman, Ty 1 ; Freeberger, Dominic 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Burnett, Robbie 1 ; Groves, Michael 1 ; Reece, Tylan 1 ; Mercado, Brock 1
HBP: Lucas, MJ 1 ; Mercado, Brock 1
Batting:
2B: Tanner Schobel 1 ; Conor Hartigan 1 ; Lucas Donlon 1
RBI: Nick Biddison 1 ; Carson DeMartini 1 ; Tanner Schobel 1 ; Jack Hurley 2 ; Conor Hartigan 1 ; Gehrig Ebel 1 ; Lucas Donlon 2
SF: Nick Biddison 1 ; Jack Hurley 1 ; Lucas Donlon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Carson DeMartini 1 ; Tanner Schobel 1 ; Eduardo Malinowski 2 ; Jack Hurley 2 ; Conor Hartigan 1 ; Sam Tackett 1 ; Gehrig Ebel 1 ; Lucas Donlon 1
SB: Eduardo Malinowski 1 ; Jack Hurley 2
HBP: Sam Tackett 1 ; Gehrig Ebel 1
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
3
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF/OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballINF/OF
/ Baseball
C/U
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
C/U
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ 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