University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Thursday, May 26
High Point, N.C.
7 p.m.
UNC Asheville
21-29-1
6
vs
9
Gardner-Webb
24-35
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
R
H
E
Gardner-Webb
0
1
0
0
1
1
0
1
1
4
9
10
3
UNC Asheville
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
6
15
0
Bulldogs battle but fall in 10 innings to Gardner-Webb, 9-6, on day two of the Big South Baseball Championship
05.27.2022 | Baseball
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The UNC Asheville baseball team's season came to an end on Thursday at the 2022 Ingles Big South Baseball Championship as Gardner-Webb upended the Bulldogs by a score of 9-6 in 10 innings. With the loss, Asheville finishes off the 2022 season with a record of 21-29-1.
The top three batters in Asheville's batting order had a ton of production on Thursday as Ty Kaufman, Dominic Freeberger, and Robbie Burnett combined to go for 11-for-18 (.611 average). Freeberger had an exceptional night in what turned out to be his final game as a Bulldog matching a career-high with five hits, scored a run, and drove in another. Burnett also matched a career-high with a four-hit effort, and Kaufman went 2-for-6.
On the mound, Asheville received an outstanding start from sophomore Zeus Ponder. Ponder pitched a career-high five innings allowing two runs on four hits to go with three strikeouts. Senior JP Perez matched a career-high with three innings pitched in relief in his final appearance as a Bulldog. He allowed two runs on four hits and set a new career-high with five strikeouts.
After Ponder got out of a jam in the top of the first, the Bulldogs managed to gain the game's first lead in the bottom half. A walk by Dylan Bacot followed a two-out double from Burnett. Cameron Johnson then ripped a single to score Burnett and put Asheville up 1-0. Michael Groves worked a walk, and then with the bases loaded, PJ Heintz did the same to force in the second run of the inning. Asheville was not done as another run scored on a Gardner-Webb fielding error to stake Ponder to a 3-0 lead.
Asheville, which got another unearned run in the second, kept Gardner-Webb's offense from the big inning on Thursday. The Runnin' Bulldogs scored single runs in the second, fifth, sixth, and eighth innings to tie the score at 4-4.
Freeberger would break the tie in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI single to score pinch-runner Kevin Catrine to swing the momentum and lead back to the Bulldogs, 5-4. Gardner-Webb, however, quickly answered back in the top of the ninth thanks to a one-out double and a single up the middle to once again tie the score. Asheville did not score in the bottom of the ninth, so for the third time this season, the Bulldogs were headed for extra innings.
A four-run top of the tenth for the Runnin' Bulldogs put the pressure back on Asheville to answer. The Bulldogs did mount a rally in the bottom half as they got the tying run to the plate with one out. Grayson Preslar drove in a run with a ground out to make 9-6, but that's where the comeback stopped as Gardner-Webb held on for the 9-6 win and advances to play top-seeded Campbell on Friday morning.
Despite Thursday's loss, the 2022 season marks one of the best seasons for the Bulldogs in recent memory matching the program's best-ever finish in Big South play (3rd), breaking the school record for winning percentage in conference games (.609) to go with five All-Big South honorees and six different Bulldogs earned a weekly award from the Big South.
The top three batters in Asheville's batting order had a ton of production on Thursday as Ty Kaufman, Dominic Freeberger, and Robbie Burnett combined to go for 11-for-18 (.611 average). Freeberger had an exceptional night in what turned out to be his final game as a Bulldog matching a career-high with five hits, scored a run, and drove in another. Burnett also matched a career-high with a four-hit effort, and Kaufman went 2-for-6.
On the mound, Asheville received an outstanding start from sophomore Zeus Ponder. Ponder pitched a career-high five innings allowing two runs on four hits to go with three strikeouts. Senior JP Perez matched a career-high with three innings pitched in relief in his final appearance as a Bulldog. He allowed two runs on four hits and set a new career-high with five strikeouts.
After Ponder got out of a jam in the top of the first, the Bulldogs managed to gain the game's first lead in the bottom half. A walk by Dylan Bacot followed a two-out double from Burnett. Cameron Johnson then ripped a single to score Burnett and put Asheville up 1-0. Michael Groves worked a walk, and then with the bases loaded, PJ Heintz did the same to force in the second run of the inning. Asheville was not done as another run scored on a Gardner-Webb fielding error to stake Ponder to a 3-0 lead.
Asheville, which got another unearned run in the second, kept Gardner-Webb's offense from the big inning on Thursday. The Runnin' Bulldogs scored single runs in the second, fifth, sixth, and eighth innings to tie the score at 4-4.
Freeberger would break the tie in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI single to score pinch-runner Kevin Catrine to swing the momentum and lead back to the Bulldogs, 5-4. Gardner-Webb, however, quickly answered back in the top of the ninth thanks to a one-out double and a single up the middle to once again tie the score. Asheville did not score in the bottom of the ninth, so for the third time this season, the Bulldogs were headed for extra innings.
A four-run top of the tenth for the Runnin' Bulldogs put the pressure back on Asheville to answer. The Bulldogs did mount a rally in the bottom half as they got the tying run to the plate with one out. Grayson Preslar drove in a run with a ground out to make 9-6, but that's where the comeback stopped as Gardner-Webb held on for the 9-6 win and advances to play top-seeded Campbell on Friday morning.
Despite Thursday's loss, the 2022 season marks one of the best seasons for the Bulldogs in recent memory matching the program's best-ever finish in Big South play (3rd), breaking the school record for winning percentage in conference games (.609) to go with five All-Big South honorees and six different Bulldogs earned a weekly award from the Big South.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: SKIDMORE, Kyle (3-1)
L: Hill, Spencer (0-2)
S: PORTELLA, Michael (2)
Batting:
2B: ROBISON, Curtis 1 ; CAPOBIANCO, Pete 1
HR: BURNS, Alec 1
RBI: MARCOS, Jacob 1 ; BURNS, Alec 1 ; ROBISON, Curtis 1 ; CAPOBIANCO, Pete 3 ; BRADY, Daegan 1 ; RUSHER, Bo 1 ; RAY, Alex 1
SH: JONES, AJ 1
SF: RUSHER, Bo 1
Base Running:
RUNS: JONES, AJ 1 ; BURNS, Alec 2 ; ROBISON, Curtis 2 ; CAPOBIANCO, Pete 1 ; BRADY, Daegan 1 ; ANDERSON, Nate 1 ; TORRES, Humberto 1
SB: MARCOS, Jacob 1
HBP: JONES, AJ 1 ; CAPOBIANCO, Pete 2 ; RUSHER, Bo 1 ; TORRES, Humberto 1
PO: MARCOS, Jacob 1
Batting:
2B: Burnett, Robbie 1 ; Groves, Michael 1
RBI: Freeberger, Dominic 1 ; Preslar, Grayson 1 ; Johnson, Cameron 1 ; Heintz, PJ 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kaufman, Ty 1 ; Freeberger, Dominic 1 ; Burnett, Robbie 1 ; Bacot, Dylan 1 ; Johnson, Cameron 1 ; Catrine, Kevin 1
CS: Reece, Tylan 1
PO: Mercado, Brock 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
cf/rf
AB
6
R
1
H
5
RBI
1
AB
6
R
1
H
4
RBI
0
AB
6
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
6
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
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OF
/ BaseballINF/OF
/ Baseball
C/U
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
U
/ BaseballHighlights || Baseball || UNC Asheville vs Presbyterian (Game 3)
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Tuesday, May 28
Highlights || Baseball || UNC Asheville at Presbyterian (Game 1)
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Highlights || Baseball || UNC Asheville vs Gardner-Webb (Game 3)
Monday, May 13