University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Saturday, May 20
High Point, NC
1 pm
UNC Asheville
9
at
6
High Point
Asheville Caps 2023 Season With a 9-6 Win at High Point
05.20.2023 | Baseball
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The UNC Asheville baseball team wrapped up its 2023 season with a 9-6 victory on the road at High Point on Saturday. With the win, the Bulldogs conclude the season with a 26-26 overall record that includes a 12-15 mark in Big South play.
The 26 victories by Asheville in 2023 is tied for the third-most in program history (2000, 2004) and just two away from matching the program record of 28 (2006). Furthermore, the 2023 season marked just the second time that the Bulldog baseball team has finished .500 or better overall with the other campaign being in 1990 when the Bulldogs finished 25-25-1.
Much like in Friday's win, the Bulldog lineup had contributions from everyone in Saturday's series finale. Michael Groves reached base in four of his five plate appearances, launched his 11th home run of the season, and scored three times. Ty Kaufman went 2-for-3 with one run scored and three more driven in. Dylan Bacot also had a two-hit day for Asheville, which marked his 23rd multi-hit game of the season.
Asheville used just two pitchers in the season finale. Clay Edmondson got the start and worked the first 5.1 innings. In his final start of 2023, Edmondson allowed four runs on eight hits and struck out six. Justin Needles, who ended up getting the win, pitched the final 3.2 innings for the Bulldogs allowing two runs on five hits to go with a pair of strikeouts.
Groves jumpstarted Asheville's offense in the opening inning on Saturday. After Kohl Abrams started the game with a walk, Groves launched a home run to right field to give Asheville an early 2-0 lead. High Point would get a run in its half of the first inning to make it 2-1 Bulldogs.
Playing in his final game as a Bulldog, Drew Bristow golfed his fourth home run of the season to push the Bulldog back to two, 3-1, in the third. Asheville continued to build its lead in the middle innings and took a 5-2 advantage into the sixth inning. High Point would break through in the sixth with four runs on three hits to pull in front of the Bulldogs, 6-5.
In a series full of back-and-forth momentum swings, the Bulldogs got the last one. In the top of the eighth, Bacot got things started with a one-out single. Groves worked a walk before Cameron Johnson brought Bacot around to score with an RBI double to tie the score at 6-6. Kaufman chased both Groves and Johnson home with a single and advanced to second base on the throw trying to get Johnson at home to make it 8-6 Asheville.
After allowing three straight hits to begin his outing in the sixth inning, Needles settled in and pitched great down the stretch for Asheville. Needles retired eight straight Panther hitters at one point. High Point did pick up a pair of singles in the ninth, but a key double play closed out the victory for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs are set to bring back a lot of key players in 2024. Asheville, however, will lose Bristow, Reece, Fermin Osio, Blake Little, Ryan Douglas, Chris Sabo, and Dawson Salter to graduation.
The 26 victories by Asheville in 2023 is tied for the third-most in program history (2000, 2004) and just two away from matching the program record of 28 (2006). Furthermore, the 2023 season marked just the second time that the Bulldog baseball team has finished .500 or better overall with the other campaign being in 1990 when the Bulldogs finished 25-25-1.
Much like in Friday's win, the Bulldog lineup had contributions from everyone in Saturday's series finale. Michael Groves reached base in four of his five plate appearances, launched his 11th home run of the season, and scored three times. Ty Kaufman went 2-for-3 with one run scored and three more driven in. Dylan Bacot also had a two-hit day for Asheville, which marked his 23rd multi-hit game of the season.
Asheville used just two pitchers in the season finale. Clay Edmondson got the start and worked the first 5.1 innings. In his final start of 2023, Edmondson allowed four runs on eight hits and struck out six. Justin Needles, who ended up getting the win, pitched the final 3.2 innings for the Bulldogs allowing two runs on five hits to go with a pair of strikeouts.
Groves jumpstarted Asheville's offense in the opening inning on Saturday. After Kohl Abrams started the game with a walk, Groves launched a home run to right field to give Asheville an early 2-0 lead. High Point would get a run in its half of the first inning to make it 2-1 Bulldogs.
Playing in his final game as a Bulldog, Drew Bristow golfed his fourth home run of the season to push the Bulldog back to two, 3-1, in the third. Asheville continued to build its lead in the middle innings and took a 5-2 advantage into the sixth inning. High Point would break through in the sixth with four runs on three hits to pull in front of the Bulldogs, 6-5.
In a series full of back-and-forth momentum swings, the Bulldogs got the last one. In the top of the eighth, Bacot got things started with a one-out single. Groves worked a walk before Cameron Johnson brought Bacot around to score with an RBI double to tie the score at 6-6. Kaufman chased both Groves and Johnson home with a single and advanced to second base on the throw trying to get Johnson at home to make it 8-6 Asheville.
Tylan Reece would drive Kaufman in for the fourth run of the inning and make the score 9-6.One final dub for the Bulldogs 💪
— Big South Conference (@BigSouthSports) May 20, 2023
Ty Kaufman singles home the go-ahead runs in the 8️⃣th as @UNCAvlBaseball beats High Point, 9-6, to win the series!#BigSouthBase pic.twitter.com/LxIyQ2qYRm
After allowing three straight hits to begin his outing in the sixth inning, Needles settled in and pitched great down the stretch for Asheville. Needles retired eight straight Panther hitters at one point. High Point did pick up a pair of singles in the ninth, but a key double play closed out the victory for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs are set to bring back a lot of key players in 2024. Asheville, however, will lose Bristow, Reece, Fermin Osio, Blake Little, Ryan Douglas, Chris Sabo, and Dawson Salter to graduation.
Players Mentioned
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