Box Score
ASHEVILLE, NC – The Winthrop baseball team finished a three-game series sweep of the UNC Asheville Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon with a 10-8 victory at McCormick Field.
The Eagles improve to 18-17 on the season and 6-6 in the Big South, while the Bulldogs fall to 11-21 overall and 5-10 in the conference.
“We came here to get a sweep and we got it today,” said head coach Joe Hudak. “We've won them in different ways this weekend and that's good.”
Wade Newman (4-2) tossed 6.0 innings and allowed four runs on nine hits, no walks and two strikeouts to earn the win in the series finale. Justin Schumer (1-4) took the loss pitching 4.0 innings and surrendered nine runs (seven earned) on 11 hits, three walks and two strikeouts.
Winthrop managed to score four runs in the top of the second inning to take a 4-0 lead over UNC Asheville. Matt Pierpont got the scoring started with his two RBI double that hit off the chalk line in left field driving in Matt Thielepape and Adam Gliebe. Sean Sullivan and Eddie Rohan both added RBI singles later in the inning.
The Bulldogs cut the deficit to 4-2 in the bottom of the second on a two-run homer to left center field by Mike Vaughn, but the Eagles responded with a run of their own in the top of the third on Gliebe's RBI single to make it a 5-2 game.
UNC Asheville trimmed Winthrop's lead to 5-4 in the bottom of the third after scoring two runs on back-to-back RBI base hits by Schumer and Ian Graham.
The Eagles responded to take a 10-4 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth after driving in four runs in the fourth and a single run in the fifth. Tyler Cook, Chas Crane and Thielepape provided three straight RBI hits with one out in the fourth inning and Gliebe posted another RBI with his single to center field. Tyler McBride led off the fifth inning with a triple off the right field wall and came home in the next at-bat by Sullivan as he grounded out to the shortstop.
The Bulldogs sliced into Winthrop's lead at 10-8 after scoring two runs in their half of the seventh and eighth innings. Schumer and Robert McIntosh each had RBI singles in the seventh, while Jacob Edwards posted an RBI double with one out and Baatz followed with an RBI sacrifice fly to center field in the eighth inning.
“I liked the way we swung the bats today,” Hudak added. “Hopefully, we can build on this.”
Gliebe led Winthrop offensively with a 4-for-5 performance with two RBI, while Sullivan had three hits and two RBI. Schumer and McIntosh posted three hits for UNC Asheville, and Schumer and Vaughn had two RBI apiece.
The Eagles will be back in action on Wednesday, Apr. 21 as they travel to Athens, GA to face the Georgia Bulldogs at 6 p.m.
