University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Friday, February 25
Asheville, N.C.
4 p.m.
UNC Asheville
0-5
4
vs
7
Niagara
1-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Niagara
1
0
0
1
0
2
3
0
0
7
11
1
UNC Asheville
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
3
0
4
9
2
Bulldogs mount a late rally but fall in the series opener to Niagara
02.25.2022 | Baseball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville baseball team had its chances but ended up falling to Niagara in its home opener Friday evening at Greenwood Field by a score of 7-4.
Despite the loss, Asheville had some players with stellar performances in the home opener. Tylan Reece, who didn't start the game, went 3-for-3 with a run scored to pace the offense. Leadoff hitter Ty Kaufman reached base four times thanks to a 2-for-4 day at the plate with a pair of walks. On the pitching side, Zeus Ponder came out of the bullpen and tossed a couple of scoreless innings.
Making his second start of the season, junior Ryan Douglas gave Asheville a solid outing to get the series started. The Climax, N.C. native, pitched 5.1 innings allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits to go along with six strikeouts. The six-strikeout outing from Douglas marked the most strikeouts in a game for him since March 8, 2020, when he struck out seven hitters against Coppin State.
Niagara struck first on Friday as it scored a run off of Douglas without a benefit of a hit. PJ Heintz drove in Dominic Freeberger with a single in the third inning to tie the score at one. The Purple Eagles went back in front with a run in the fourth.
The turning point seemed to occur towards the tail end of Douglas' start. A leadoff home run followed by a single chased Douglas from the contest. Jay Allmer was the first call to the bullpen for the Bulldogs, and a couple more singles extended the Purple Eagle lead to 4-1, heading to the seventh.
Niagara launched two more home runs in the seventh to open up a 7-1 lead on the Bulldogs. Asheville did mount a rally in the eighth, scoring three runs on three hits and a walk to cut into the Niagara lead. In the ninth, Reece collected his third hit of the game but was stranded on first base as the Purple Eagles held on for the 7-4 victory. At the conclusion of Friday's contest, the Bulldogs left 15 runners on base.
The Bulldogs and Purple Eagles will meet again on Saturday in a doubleheader. The twin bill, which is set for a 1 p.m. first pitch, will be played at the Big League Camp facility in Marion, N.C.
Despite the loss, Asheville had some players with stellar performances in the home opener. Tylan Reece, who didn't start the game, went 3-for-3 with a run scored to pace the offense. Leadoff hitter Ty Kaufman reached base four times thanks to a 2-for-4 day at the plate with a pair of walks. On the pitching side, Zeus Ponder came out of the bullpen and tossed a couple of scoreless innings.
Making his second start of the season, junior Ryan Douglas gave Asheville a solid outing to get the series started. The Climax, N.C. native, pitched 5.1 innings allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits to go along with six strikeouts. The six-strikeout outing from Douglas marked the most strikeouts in a game for him since March 8, 2020, when he struck out seven hitters against Coppin State.
Niagara struck first on Friday as it scored a run off of Douglas without a benefit of a hit. PJ Heintz drove in Dominic Freeberger with a single in the third inning to tie the score at one. The Purple Eagles went back in front with a run in the fourth.
The turning point seemed to occur towards the tail end of Douglas' start. A leadoff home run followed by a single chased Douglas from the contest. Jay Allmer was the first call to the bullpen for the Bulldogs, and a couple more singles extended the Purple Eagle lead to 4-1, heading to the seventh.
Niagara launched two more home runs in the seventh to open up a 7-1 lead on the Bulldogs. Asheville did mount a rally in the eighth, scoring three runs on three hits and a walk to cut into the Niagara lead. In the ninth, Reece collected his third hit of the game but was stranded on first base as the Purple Eagles held on for the 7-4 victory. At the conclusion of Friday's contest, the Bulldogs left 15 runners on base.
The Bulldogs and Purple Eagles will meet again on Saturday in a doubleheader. The twin bill, which is set for a 1 p.m. first pitch, will be played at the Big League Camp facility in Marion, N.C.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Wilde, Evan (1-1)
L: Douglas, Ryan (0-2)
S: Erwin, Ben (1)
Batting:
3B: Ward, Matt 1
HR: O'Connor, Cole 1 ; Marchese, Josh 1 ; Ward, Matt 1
RBI: O'Connor, Cole 2 ; Marchese, Josh 1 ; Ward, Matt 2 ; Ward, Liam 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Bailey, Dawson 1 ; O'Connor, Cole 1 ; Tucker, Cole 1 ; Marchese, Josh 1 ; Ward, Matt 3
SB: Bailey, Dawson 1 ; Desjardins, Brady 1
CS: Desjardins, Brady 1
HBP: Tucker, Cole 1
PO: Palmer, Wyatt 1
Batting:
2B: Kaufman, Ty 1
RBI: Freeberger, Dominic 1 ; Bacot, Dylan 1 ; Heintz, PJ 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kaufman, Ty 1 ; Freeberger, Dominic 1 ; Johnson, Cameron 1 ; Reece, Tylan 1
CS: Catrine, Kevin 1
HBP: Heintz, PJ 1 ; Catrine, Kevin 1
Game Leaders
ph/lf
AB
3
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
2b/ss
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF/OF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
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