University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
5-3
Charlotte
5-4
Baseball falls at Charlotte Tuesday in a 13-8 slugfest
02.28.2023 | Baseball
The balanced Bulldog lineup continued into Tuesday's matchup with the 49ers. All nine Bulldogs that started the game reached base at least once and eight of the nine picked up a hit. Corbin Lanowitz continues his hot start to 2023 reaching base four times on a 2-for-3 day with two walks and two runs scored. Dylan Bacot also had a two-hit game with one of those being a three-run home run. Cameron Johnson had a three-run home run of his own, while Tony Castonguay joined Lanowitz and Bacot with two hits and he drove in a pair of runs as well.
Asheville had nine pitchers see time on the mound on Tuesday. Cole Bates posted the top outing for a Bulldog pitcher against Charlotte tossing 1.2 scoreless innings that included a pair of strikeouts. Isaac Gonzales and Branden Barna also logged scoreless innings of relief on Tuesday in their respective 2023 debuts.
Charlotte wasted little time jumping on the Bulldogs. A leadoff single in the bottom of the first was followed with a two-run home run to stake the 49ers to an early 2-0 lead. Asheville starter Isaac Williams walked four straight hitters, which forced another run for Charlotte. The Bulldogs turned to the bullpen and the control issues continued. Another walk was followed by a wild pitch and then another walk grew the 49er lead to 5-0 after one inning.
The Bulldogs would quickly put a dent in Charlotte's lead in the second. Lanowitz singled and Michael Groves added a single as well to give Asheville its first runner in scoring position. A wild pitch moved both Lanowitz and Groves into scoring position before Castonguay came through with a key two-out two-run single to get the Bulldogs on the board.
A big two-run single from Castonguay & the Bulldogs are on the board! #ALLinAVL #TTS pic.twitter.com/sd9wWdbY6v
— Asheville Baseball (@UNCAvlBaseball) February 28, 2023
The 49ers scored three more runs in the bottom of the second and added another run in the third. However, Asheville showed its power as Johnson and Bacot launched three-run home runs to keep Asheville within striking distance after four innings, 8-7.
Following a scoreless fifth, Charlotte's power came back around in the sixth. A pair of two-run home runs extended Charlotte's lead to five, 13-8. The five-run cushion proved to be enough as the 49ers' bullpen kept Asheville off the scoreboard the rest of the way and held on for the victory.CAM GOES BAM! A three-run blast by Cameron Johnson shrinks Charlotte's lead to three, 8-5! #ALLinAVL #TTS pic.twitter.com/n2aXPsFpDn
— Asheville Baseball (@UNCAvlBaseball) February 28, 2023
Asheville is scheduled to return home for a four-game home series against Iona this weekend. The series is scheduled to begin on Friday afternoon at Greenwood Field. The first pitch for that matchup is set for 3 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Andrew Spolyar (1-1)
L: Williams, Isaac (0-2)
Batting:
HR: Bacot, Dylan 1 ; Johnson, Cameron 1
RBI: Bacot, Dylan 3 ; Johnson, Cameron 3 ; Castonguay, Tony 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Kaufman, Ty 1 ; Bacot, Dylan 1 ; Lanowitz, Corbin 2 ; Johnson, Cameron 1 ; Groves, Michael 1 ; Castonguay, Tony 1 ; Abrams, Kohl 1
HBP: Castonguay, Tony 1
Batting:
2B: Cam Fisher 1 ; Will Butcher 2 ; Dante DeFranco 1
HR: Cam Fisher 2 ; Brandon Stahlman 1
RBI: Cam Fisher 4 ; Will Butcher 1 ; Brandon Stahlman 3 ; Dante DeFranco 3
SH: Dante DeFranco 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jake Cunningham 2 ; Cam Fisher 4 ; Kaden Hopson 2 ; Eli Weisner 2 ; Josh Patrick 2 ; Brandon Stahlman 1
SB: Blake Jackson 1 ; Cam Fisher 1
