Box Score Box Score
BOILING SPRINGS, NC – Winthrop pitcher
Matt Pierpont tossed his second complete game of the season, while
Patrick Gamblin hit a key eighth-inning home run as the Eagles picked up their first conference win of the season with a 4-1 victory over the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs on Friday evening at John H. Moss Stadium.
Winthrop improves to 8-19 on the season and 1-3 in conference play, while the Runnin' Bulldogs fall to 15-12 overall and 1-3 in the conference.
Pierpont (3-4) allowed just one run in the contest on seven hits, two walks and three strikeouts while picking up his second career complete game. He earned Big South Pitcher of the Week honors for his complete game shutout of Rider on Mar. 16. Matt Fraudin (1-2) suffered the loss allowing two runs on five hits, four walks and three strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work.
The Eagles took advantage of its scoring opportunities in the second and third innings as it plated one run each in the two innings to jump out to a 2-0 lead. Gamblin led off the second with a double down the left field line and then moved to third on a bunt single by
Justin Hopper down the third base line, and then scored after
Chas Crane hit into a 5-4-3 double play.
TJ Olesczuk gave Winthrop its second run of the game in the top of the third on his RBI double to the wall in center field driving in
Jason Driver from second base. Driver began the inning for the Eagles with their second straight double to lead off an inning.
Gardner-Webb trimmed its deficit to 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth on Scott Johnson's RBI triple down the right field line, which brought home from Ryan Hodge from second base after he recorded a one-out single two batters earlier and then moved to second on a balk by Pierpont.
The game was then delayed 10 minutes before the start of the sixth inning due to rain, and stayed 2-1 until the top of the eighth when Gamblin gave Winthrop two more insurance runs with two outs in the inning on his third home run of the season, a two-run shot to left field, to extend its lead to 4-1. Olesczuk scored on the long ball after his single to center field.
Pierpont got into a jam in the bottom of the eighth after Brad Collins singled and Scott Johnson walked to start the inning, and the Runnin' Bulldogs loaded the bases with one out after a Zeke Blanton single. He was able to get out the inning without giving up a run as he got John Harris to fly out to left field and Dusty Quattlebaum to ground out to
Leighton Daniels at second.
Hopper led the Eagles offensively with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, a new career-high for him, while Gamblin drove in a team-leading two RBI. Ryan Hodge recorded a team-best two hits for Gardner-Webb, and Johnson posted the lone RBI.
Winthrop will resume its series against the Runnin' Bulldogs with game two on Saturday, Mar. 31 at 2 p.m.
