University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
4-5
Siena
0-7
Baseball Earns Doubleheader Sweep Against Siena
03.02.2024 | Baseball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville baseball team opened its weekend series with Siena on Saturday and defeated the Saints 11-6 in game one and 12-5 in game two.
GAME ONE
Cole Schiff and Justin Needles took the mound for Asheville in the series opener, with Schiff getting the start and going 4.0 innings, giving up five hits, five runs (all earned), walking four, and striking out three. Needles got the win, going 5.0 innings, giving up one hit, one run (earned), walking three and striking out five.
Of the nine innings, Schiff and Needles combined for the final out of the inning being a strikeout five times. The first three innings of action saw Schiff end the inning with a strikeout.
Asheville combined for 15 hits, with everyone in the starting lineup recording a hit. Ty Kaufman led the team with three hits and three RBIs. Kohl Abrams, Corbin Lanowitz, Michael Groves, and Brock Mercado recorded two hits, and Robbie Burnett, Dylan Bacot, Cameron Johnson, and Ben Hemphill had one.
Lanowitz, Groves, and Hemphill drove in two runs apiece.
Mercado got Asheville's first run across in the second inning with a single to the left side, scoring Johnson. Siena evened things up in the third inning, but the Bulldogs answered in the bottom of the frame to retake the lead 5-1. An RBI double from Lanowitz to score Abrams sparked Asheville's scoring run. Two at-bats later, Groves singled to right field, scoring Bacot, and an error by the right fielder also helped push Lanowitz across. The final run of the inning for the Bulldogs came from a single up the middle by Kaufman to score Johnson.
In the top of the fourth, the Saints responded with a 3-run home run, followed by an infield RBI groundout and an RBI single to even the score at five. Siena went on to take the lead 6-5 in the fifth. This, however, would be the Saints' final run of the game, as in the bottom half of the inning, Hemphill would connect for a 2-RBI double to left center, scoring Johnson and Mercado, to help retake the lead for Asheville 7-6.
Groves earned his second RBI of the game in the sixth inning, as he doubled down the right field line to score Bacot. In the seventh inning, Lanowitz recorded his second RBI with a double to right field to score Abrams, and Kaufman singled to center field, driving home Bacot and Lanowitz.
GAME TWO
The Saints were the first team on the scoreboard in game two, but Lanowitz would help even the score in the bottom of the third with a single to left field scoring Abrams. An inning later, Coleman McGinnis would drive in Kaufman following a hit up the middle.
In the sixth inning, Asheville would bat around, sending 10 batters up to the plate and scoring seven runs. McGinnis led off and got on board with a single through the right side. Cannon Pierce followed with a hit through the right side, and an error by the right fielder allowed McGinnis to go to third. An error the following at-bat would allow Abrams to reach base and McGinnis to score Asheville's first run of the inning.
Burnett reached base on a fielder's choice, and was able to reach second and Pierce was able to score following a throwing error. A hit by pitch would put Bacot on first, allowing Lanowitz to connect for a 3-run home run. Siena had a pitching change following Lanowitz's homer, and Asheville's bats stayed hot as Johnson connected for his first homer of the season. This was the first time since May 2022 that Asheville has connected for two homers in an inning and the first time since April 2021 that the Bulldogs have recorded back-to-back bombs. A sac fly from McGinnis, bringing home Groves closed Asheville's seven-run inning, making the score 9-1.
Siena responded with four runs in the seventh, but the Bulldogs scored three runs in the bottom of the frame, following a 2-RBI single from Bacot and a fielder's choice that allowed Burnett to score. Siena connected for one run in the ninth, but a fly out to center field the next at-bat would end the game.
Asheville recorded 11 hits, with McGinnis accounting for three and two RBIs. Lanowitz, Johnson, and Pierce each recorded two, with Lanowitz leading the team with four RBIs. Bacot and Kaufman each recorded a hit. Bacot and Johnson each recorded two RBIs.
Colby Guy got the start and the win for Asheville as he went five innings, giving up one run (earned), walking two, and striking out three. Nick Bruno and Brett Johnson came on in relief.
UP NEXT
With Asheville's wins, the Bulldogs improved to 5-5 on the season.
The Bulldogs return for game three of the series tomorrow, Sunday, March 3, at Greenwood Field, with first pitch scheduled for noon.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Needles, Justin (1-0)
L: Kidwell, Tyler (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Barbero, Danny 1 ; Rachiele, Austin 1 ; Hien, Randall 1
HR: Stenson, Kobe 1
RBI: Figueroa, Tyler 1 ; Barbero, Danny 1 ; Percival, Louis 1 ; Stenson, Kobe 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Bergamotto, Nick 1 ; Rachiele, Austin 1 ; Schwarick, Willie 1 ; Percival, Louis 1 ; Stenson, Kobe 1 ; Hien, Randall 1
HBP: Percival, Louis 1
Batting:
2B: Abrams, Kohl 1 ; Bacot, Dylan 1 ; Lanowitz, Corbin 2 ; Johnson, Cameron 1 ; Groves, Michael 1 ; Hemphill, Ben 1
RBI: Lanowitz, Corbin 2 ; Groves, Michael 2 ; Kaufman, Ty 3 ; Mercado, Brock 1 ; Hemphill, Ben 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Abrams, Kohl 2 ; Bacot, Dylan 3 ; Lanowitz, Corbin 2 ; Johnson, Cameron 3 ; Mercado, Brock 1
SB: Kaufman, Ty 1 ; Mercado, Brock 1
HBP: Abrams, Kohl 1
