University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
9-13, 0
Charleston Southern
10-16, 0
Bulldogs outlast Charleston Southern, 14-13, for their fourth straight win
03.27.2022 | Baseball
Sunday's win was Asheville's fourth straight after winning at Western Carolina on Tuesday and all three games vs. Charleston Southern. It marks the first sweep for Asheville over Charleston Southern since 2010 and its first sweep of a Big South opponent since 2019. Finally, the 4-2 start by Asheville in Big South is its best six-game start to league play since 2003, when it posted a 5-1 record in its first six conference contests.
In a game where it set new season-highs in runs scored (14) and hits (19), Asheville had stellar performances throughout its lineup. All nine Bulldogs notched at least one hit in the contest, and six had multi-hit days. Dominic Freeberger continues to be one of the hottest hitters in the Big South with another 4-for-5 day with three runs scored. Robbie Burnett went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI, and Cam Johnson posted a 3-for-3 day in the batters' box with three RBI and a run scored.
Jacob Edwards turned in another solid start for Asheville on Sunday. Edwards worked the first 5.1 innings allowing three runs (one earned) on seven hits to go with four strikeouts. JP Perez, who was one of six Bulldog relievers following Edwards, ended up getting the win by tossing 1.2 scoreless frames to close out the crazy 14-13 victory.
Asheville's offense constantly made Charleston Southern's pitching staff work on Sunday. With the exception of the third, the Bulldogs scored at least one run in every inning on the day. The Bulldogs were rolling into the middle innings as they led by a score of 9-1 heading into the sixth inning.
Credit the Buccaneers, though, as they did not give up despite the sizable deficit. CSU's offense was able to get to the Bulldog bullpen for 12 runs to take the lead in the top of the eighth, 13-12.
After seeing its lead evaporate, the Bulldogs answered back in the bottom half of that inning. Freeberger started things with a single to right field, and Burnett and Dylan Bacot followed with walks to load the bases. Michael Groves then drew his second bases-loaded walk of the day to tie the game at 13 before Johnson hit a deep fly ball to left field to put the Bulldogs back in front, 14-13. Perez then tossed a scoreless ninth thanks in part to an unusual double play to finish the win for the Bulldogs.
Just how we drew it up!#ALLinAVL #TTS pic.twitter.com/I7Wmv87loi
— UNC Asheville Baseball (@UNCAvlBaseball) March 27, 2022
Asheville will look to keep things rolling in its next game on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the Bulldogs will play a neutral site game against Appalachian State at L.P. Frans Stadium, the home of the Hickory Crawdads. The first pitch for that contest is set for 6 p.m. To purchase tickets, click HERE.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Perez, JP (2-0)
L: ROBINSON, Z. (1-1)
Batting:
2B: HARRIS, H. 1 ; SCZEPKOWSKI 1 ; MILLS, P. 2
HR: WALDSCHMIDT 1 ; IZZIO, A. 1
RBI: WALDSCHMIDT 3 ; PAYNE, J. 3 ; IZZIO, A. 4 ; MILLS, P. 1 ; BASLER, P. 1
SH: BASLER, P. 1
SF: BASLER, P. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HARRIS, H. 2 ; SCZEPKOWSKI 3 ; CARTER, C. 2 ; WALDSCHMIDT 3 ; PAYNE, J. 2 ; IZZIO, A. 1
HBP: HARRIS, H. 2 ; WALDSCHMIDT 2 ; PAYNE, J. 1
PO: WALDSCHMIDT 1
Batting:
2B: Freeberger, Dominic 1 ; Bacot, Dylan 1 ; Preslar, Grayson 2
RBI: Kaufman, Ty 2 ; Burnett, Robbie 2 ; Bacot, Dylan 1 ; Groves, Michael 3 ; Johnson, Cameron 3 ; Chandler, Wade 1
SF: Kaufman, Ty 1 ; Burnett, Robbie 1 ; Johnson, Cameron 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Kaufman, Ty 1 ; Freeberger, Dominic 3 ; Burnett, Robbie 3 ; Bacot, Dylan 1 ; Groves, Michael 1 ; Johnson, Cameron 1 ; Heintz, PJ 1 ; Chandler, Wade 1 ; Preslar, Grayson 2
SB: Burnett, Robbie 1
HBP: Groves, Michael 1 ; Johnson, Cameron 1
