University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
15-20, 0
Winthrop
14-21-1, 0
Timely Hitting and Resilient Pitching Leads Asheville to Series Opening Victory
04.19.2024 | Baseball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville baseball team's offense combined for 13 hits, and the pitching staff combined for nine strikeouts to lead the Bulldogs to a series-opening 10-4 victory Friday evening at Greenwood Field.
OFFENSE STRINGS TOGETHER TIMELY HITS
Following a quiet first inning, Asheville responded with a hit and a run in the second to take its first lead of the game. Dylan Bacot singled up the middle for Asheville's first hit of the game and went on to score following a wild pitch. Winthrop tied the game with a run in the top of the third, but the Bulldogs answered with four runs in the bottom of the frame. Ty Kaufman, Robbie Burnett, and Cameron Johnson opened the bottom of the third with three consecutive hits. Kaufman scored off Burnett's hit, and Burnett and C. Johnson scored following a single to left field from Bacot. Bacot went on to score following an RBI single from Ben Hemphill.
Winthrop threatened Asheville's lead in the fourth, loading the bases and scoring two following a bases-loaded walk and hit by pitch. However, the Bulldogs showed their resilience, as Brett Johnson came in for relief and ended Winthrop's threat with a strikeout. The team, in the bottom of the frame, extended its lead back out by two following an RBI double from Burnett to score Ty Kaufman and an RBI double from Johnson to score Burnett (7-3).
Asheville's eighth run came in the fifth inning, as Kohl Abrams scored Mercado following an RBI single to left field. Winthrop pushed a run across in the seventh, but Asheville added two more runs to its lead in the eighth. C. Johnson scored following an RBI single from Bacot, and an infield error allowed Bacot to score the next at-bat.
Justin Honeycutt came in for relief in the ninth. Following two hits, Honeycutt struck out the next two batters before Jacob Williams came in to strike out the final batter.
IN THE BOX
B. Johnson picked up his third win of the season, pitching 4.1 innings, giving up six hits, one run (earned), and striking out five. Nick Bruno got the start, going 3.2 innings, giving up four hits, three runs (two earned), walking four, and striking out one.
C. Johnson and Bacot led Asheville with three hits each. Bacot led the team with three RBIs and scored three times, while C. Johnson had one RBI and scored twice. Burnett and Abrams had two hits each, and Burnett had two RBIs. Kaufman, Michael Groves, and Hemphill each had a hit, with Hemphill recording an RBI.
UP NEXT
Game two of the weekend Big South Conference series between the Bulldogs and Eagles is scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, April 20, at 2 p.m. at Greenwood Field. Due to potential weather in the area, Sunday's series finale has turned into a Saturday doubleheader, with game two starting approximately 45 minutes after Saturday's scheduled 2 p.m. game.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Johnson, Brett (3-2)
L: HUGE, Riley (4-5)
Batting:
2B: HERNANDEZ, Jaylen 1
RBI: JENNINGS, Chancellor 1 ; HERNANDEZ, Jaylen 1 ; LOMBARDO, Colin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HERNANDEZ, Jaylen 1 ; AFFHOLTER, Abe 1 ; CHRONIS, Nate 1 ; RUOCCO, Anthony 1
SB: HERNANDEZ, Jaylen 1
HBP: HERNANDEZ, Jaylen 1
Batting:
2B: Kaufman, Ty 1 ; Burnett, Robbie 1 ; Johnson, Cameron 1 ; Groves, Michael 1
RBI: Burnett, Robbie 2 ; Johnson, Cameron 1 ; Bacot, Dylan 3 ; Hemphill, Ben 1
SH: Lanowitz, Corbin 1 ; Mercado, Brock 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kaufman, Ty 1 ; Burnett, Robbie 2 ; Johnson, Cameron 2 ; Bacot, Dylan 3 ; Mercado, Brock 1 ; Abrams, Kohl 1
SB: Bacot, Dylan 1
HBP: Hemphill, Ben 2
PO: Groves, Michael 1
