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Gamblin Attempts Tag At First Base

#5 Winthrop Falls To #2 Liberty 7-2 In Big South Tournament

Eagles Will Face VMI At 11 a.m. On Thursday Morning

Box Score

ROCK HILL, SC – Flames pitcher Steven Evans struck out nine batters in a complete game effort to lead No. 2 seed Liberty to a 7-2 win over No. 5 seed Winthrop in Game 4 of the 2010 Royal Purple Big South Baseball Championship, May 25 at The Winthrop Ballpark on the campus of Winthrop University. 

With the victory, Liberty improves to 40-17 and advances to play the winner of No. 3 Radford-No. 4 High Point Thursday at 7 p.m.  Winthrop falls to 26-29 and moves to the loser's bracket, where the Eagles will face No. 6 VMI in an elimination game Thursday morning at 11 a.m. 
 
Winthrop scored the game's first run in the top of the second when Matt Thielepape reached on an infield single and moved to second on Patrick Gamblin's single to left.  A fielder's choice moved Gamblin to second but wiped out Thielepape, but a throwing error by Evans on a force out attempt at second allowed Gamblin to come around and score.
 
Liberty responded in the bottom of the inning with four runs to jump ahead 4-1.  Nathan Thompson walked and moved to second on P.J. Jimenez's infield single.  Kenneth Negron plated both runners with a double down the left field line to make the score 2-1 in favor of the Flames.  Negron advanced to third on Jeff Jefferson's single to right, and later scored on Trey Wimmer's groundout to second base.  Jefferson would eventually come around to score on Curran Redal's two-out single up the middle.
 
The Flames extended their lead to 6-1 in the fifth on Tyler Bream's ninth home run of the season, a two-out, two-run blast over the left field wall.  In the seventh, Bream singled and later scored on Thompson's double to right.  Winthrop would trim the deficit to 7-2 in the eighth inning.  Tyler McBride doubled to center, moved to third on Tyler Cook's single to left and scored on a wild pitch.
 
Evans was masterful on the day, allowing seven hits, two runs (one earned), walking one and fanning nine to improve to 9-2 on the year.  He had four 1-2-3 innings, retiring the Eagles in order in the first, third, fourth and sixth frames.  Winthrop's Robert Lake (6-5) also went the distance on the mound.  He gave up seven runs on 11 hits and struck out three.
 
Bream finished 2-4 with two RBI, while Thompson had two doubles.  Seven Eagles had one hit each in the losing effort.  Winthrop Head Coach Joe Hudak ejected in fifth inning for arguing a pickoff play at first base.
 
Liberty's 40 wins ties the program record first set in 1983, and gives the Big South two 40-win teams for the first time since 2005.  It marks the fifth time overall in League history that two Big South teams recorded at least 40 victories in the same season (1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2010).
 
Liberty Head Coach Jim Toman
“It was important for us to get a win in the first game of the tournament and Steven Evans set the tone for us today, with his pitching.  Tying the school records for wins is a great accomplishment for us.  We set a goal of reaching the school record at the beginning of the year and to get there is outstanding.”
 
Winthrop Associate Head Coach Mike McGuire
“Give Stephen Evans credit today.  He has beaten us twice in the last week.  He has our number.  We will regroup and come ready to play tomorrow.  For the most part, Robert Lake pitched ahead in the count and threw well today.”

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