University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Tuesday, March 24
Asheville, NC
4 PM
UNC Asheville
13-12
8
vs
4
Western Carolina
17-9
1st innning1
2nd innning2
3rd innning3
4th innning4
5th innning5
6th innning6
7th innning7
8th innning8
9th innning9
RunsR
HitsH
ErrorsE
Western Carolina
0
1
1
0
2
0
0
0
0
4
3
0
UNC Asheville
0
0
0
4
0
1
0
3
X
8
11
1
Bulldogs Upend Western Carolina for 8-4 Midweek Victory on Tuesday
03.24.2026 | Baseball
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - UNC Asheville Baseball upended Western Carolina 8-4 for a midweek victory on Tuesday (Mar. 24) at Greenwood Field. This marks the first win for the Bulldogs in the Mountain Rivalry since 2022, and the first win in the series at Greenwood Field since 2017.
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After a scoreless first inning, Western Carolina struck first with one run in the second and one run in the third for a 2-0 lead. After the Bulldogs hung a scoreless frame on defense in the top of the fourth, the offense responded with four runs in the home half to take a 4-2 lead. Owen Michelson greeted a new Western Carolina pitcher with a single through the right side, before Jake Minarik singled up the middle to put two runners on with no one out. A perfectly-executed double steal put runners at second and third, before Ben Green drew a walk to load the bases. Tyler Parks would deliver a double into the left field corner to tie the game, scoring Michelson and Minarik. After another Western Carolina pitching change, Zeb Swangim would greet the new Western Carolina arm with a single up the middle to score Green and Parks and give the Bulldogs a 4-2 lead heading to the fifth. Western Carolina would tie the game with two runs in the top of the fifth, before the teams would eventually head to the bottom of the sixth still tied. The Bulldogs left the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth, before the Catamounts would do the same in the top of the sixth. Ryland Howell and Matthew Hall would combine efforts to work out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the inning. The Bulldogs took the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth when Blaize Johnson scored on a groundout by Patrick Gillen, before Asheville would add three runs in the bottom of the eighth to bring the game to its final score. Logan Lowe led off the inning with a double to right center, before moving to third on a fly ball to deep center by Johnson for the first out. Gillen would reach on a fielder's choice to shortstop that scored Lowe, when Lowe beat a throw to the plate with the contact play on. Gillen would advance to second on a wild pitch, before Michelson would draw a walk to put two runners on. After the second out was recorded, Green would rip his first career triple to the right field corner to score Gillen and Michelson to put the game at its final score. The Bulldogs bullpen would shut it down in the ninth for the win.
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Lowe, Johnson, Michelson and Parks each had two hits in the game, while Minarik Green and Swangim each had one hit in the game. Green, Parks and Swangim each drove in two runs in the game, while Gillen and Minarik each brought in one run in the game. Michelson crossed the plate twice in the game, while Lowe, Johnson, Gillen, Minarik, Green and Parks each scored once. Michelson, Minarik and Parks each stole a base in the game. Cooper Smith got the start for the Bulldogs, allowing one run on two hits with one strikeout before handing the ball off to Nic Melton. Melton allowed one run on one hit through one inning with one walk, before passing the ball to Colin Woolard. Woolard posted a clean inning of relief, before giving way to Nick Bruno who then passed the ball to TJ Brooks. Brooks walked two and struck out one in one inning of work, before Howell fired 0.2 innings of key relief with one walk and two huge strikeouts. Hall (2-0) fired 3.1 innings of hitless relief with three strikeouts to earn his second win of the season. The Bulldog defense also turned one double play in the game, with Hall catching a line drive right back up the middle then making the play at first.
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The Bulldogs (13-12) return to action on Friday (Mar. 27) at USC Upstate for the latest installment of the Ingles I-26 Rivalry. First pitch is set for 5:00 p.m. from Spartanburg, S.C. with video and live stats available at www.uncabulldogs.com. Â
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After a scoreless first inning, Western Carolina struck first with one run in the second and one run in the third for a 2-0 lead. After the Bulldogs hung a scoreless frame on defense in the top of the fourth, the offense responded with four runs in the home half to take a 4-2 lead. Owen Michelson greeted a new Western Carolina pitcher with a single through the right side, before Jake Minarik singled up the middle to put two runners on with no one out. A perfectly-executed double steal put runners at second and third, before Ben Green drew a walk to load the bases. Tyler Parks would deliver a double into the left field corner to tie the game, scoring Michelson and Minarik. After another Western Carolina pitching change, Zeb Swangim would greet the new Western Carolina arm with a single up the middle to score Green and Parks and give the Bulldogs a 4-2 lead heading to the fifth. Western Carolina would tie the game with two runs in the top of the fifth, before the teams would eventually head to the bottom of the sixth still tied. The Bulldogs left the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth, before the Catamounts would do the same in the top of the sixth. Ryland Howell and Matthew Hall would combine efforts to work out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the inning. The Bulldogs took the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth when Blaize Johnson scored on a groundout by Patrick Gillen, before Asheville would add three runs in the bottom of the eighth to bring the game to its final score. Logan Lowe led off the inning with a double to right center, before moving to third on a fly ball to deep center by Johnson for the first out. Gillen would reach on a fielder's choice to shortstop that scored Lowe, when Lowe beat a throw to the plate with the contact play on. Gillen would advance to second on a wild pitch, before Michelson would draw a walk to put two runners on. After the second out was recorded, Green would rip his first career triple to the right field corner to score Gillen and Michelson to put the game at its final score. The Bulldogs bullpen would shut it down in the ninth for the win.
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Lowe, Johnson, Michelson and Parks each had two hits in the game, while Minarik Green and Swangim each had one hit in the game. Green, Parks and Swangim each drove in two runs in the game, while Gillen and Minarik each brought in one run in the game. Michelson crossed the plate twice in the game, while Lowe, Johnson, Gillen, Minarik, Green and Parks each scored once. Michelson, Minarik and Parks each stole a base in the game. Cooper Smith got the start for the Bulldogs, allowing one run on two hits with one strikeout before handing the ball off to Nic Melton. Melton allowed one run on one hit through one inning with one walk, before passing the ball to Colin Woolard. Woolard posted a clean inning of relief, before giving way to Nick Bruno who then passed the ball to TJ Brooks. Brooks walked two and struck out one in one inning of work, before Howell fired 0.2 innings of key relief with one walk and two huge strikeouts. Hall (2-0) fired 3.1 innings of hitless relief with three strikeouts to earn his second win of the season. The Bulldog defense also turned one double play in the game, with Hall catching a line drive right back up the middle then making the play at first.
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The Bulldogs (13-12) return to action on Friday (Mar. 27) at USC Upstate for the latest installment of the Ingles I-26 Rivalry. First pitch is set for 5:00 p.m. from Spartanburg, S.C. with video and live stats available at www.uncabulldogs.com. Â
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hall, Matthew (2-0)
L: Tyler Oaks (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Mason Holton 1
RBI: Mason Holton 1 ; Jaylen Jones 1
SH: Jackson Lyda 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jackson Lyda 1 ; Mason Holton 1 ; Yates Sikes 2
HBP: Wyatt Stanley 1 ; Trent Turner 1 ; Jaylen Jones 1 ; Noah Quarless 1 ; Yates Sikes 1
PO: Trent Turner 1
Batting:
2B: Lowe, Logan 1 ; Parks, Tyler 1
3B: Green, Ben 1
RBI: Gillen, Patrick 1 ; Minarik, Jake 1 ; Green, Ben 2 ; Parks, Tyler 2 ; Swangim, Zeb 2
SH: McGinnis, Coleman 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lowe, Logan 1 ; Johnson, Blaize 1 ; Gillen, Patrick 1 ; Michelson, Owen 2 ; Minarik, Jake 1 ; Green, Ben 1 ; Parks, Tyler 1
SB: Michelson, Owen 1 ; Minarik, Jake 1 ; Parks, Tyler 1
CS: Parks, Tyler 1
HBP: Minarik, Jake 1 ; McGinnis, Coleman 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP/OF
/ Baseball
C/UTL
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
C/OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballC/UTL
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
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