Box Score
ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop baseball team limited the Furman Paladins to just five hits on Tuesday evening as it earned a 10-0 victory in non-conference baseball action at The Winthrop Ballpark.
The Eagles improve to 11-13 on the season, while the Paladins fall to 13-14 overall.
Matt Pierpont (1-2) picked up his first collegiate victory on the mound tossing 5.0 innings of shutout baseball on two hits, no walks and one strikeout. Pierpont, along with Wade Newman and Justin Hopper, allowed just one walk on the night to the Furman hitters. Stephen Gary (2-1) took the loss surrendering one run on three hits, one walk and no strikeouts in 2.2 innings of work.
“Matt went five innings tonight and gave up just two hits with one strikeout, and was ahead of all of the hitters,” said head coach Tom Riginos. “He just did a really nice job. I am proud of all three pitchers tonight. The name of the game is pitching and defense right now with these new bats. We needed a pitching performance like that one to get some momentum going into the High Point series.”
Winthrop struck first in the bottom of the third inning with one run on Tyler Cook's RBI single that went off Gary and into right field. Cam Walters scored on the hit to make it a 1-0 contest after he reached on a single to center field with two outs in the inning.
The Eagles went up 2-0 in the fourth when Patrick Gamblin scored from second base after a single to center field by Matt Lobacz, and then extended their lead to 5-0 in the sixth inning with three runs. The scoring started just two batters into the inning on a TJ Olesczuk RBI single to right field, and then Eddie Rohan followed with an RBI single of his own to right field four batters later. Brett Thomas also added an RBI infield single in the fourth inning.
Winthrop broke the game open plating a combined five runs in its half of the seventh and eighth innings. The Eagles scored one run in the seventh and four in the eighth. The lone run of the seventh inning came on a bases loaded walk by Chas Crane. In the eighth inning, Olesczuk recorded an RBI infield single and Walters' RBI sacrifice fly to left field plated Max Vogel. Olesczuk and Adam Gliebe later scored when Crane reached on a throwing error by Will Muzika at second base.
Along with 14 hits on the evening for the Eagles, they also set a team season-high with six stolen bases against the Paladins. Gliebe stole a team-best two bases, while Cook, Rohan, Gamblin and Olesczuk all swiped one base each.
It was the first shutout victory for Winthrop since a 4-0 win in the second game of a doubleheader against the Presbyterian Blue Hose on May 1, 2010 in Rock Hill.
Four different Eagle hitters had two hits each in the game, and Olesczuk drove in two runs. Alex Abrams led Furman offensively with a 2-for-3 performance.
Winthrop will be back in action on Friday, Apr. 1 at 7 p.m. in the first game of a three-game Big South Conference series with the High Point Panthers at Williard Stadium.
