ROCK HILL, SC --  The Winthrop baseball team looks to close out the 2013 season on a strong note as it travels to Asheville for a Big South three-game set with the UNC Asheville Bulldogs.
 
The bats came alive for Winthrop last time in action as the Eagles launched three home runs off Wake Forest pitchers paving the way to a 5-2 win over the Demon Deacons on Tuesday in Winston-Salem.  It was a big four-run second inning for the Eagles that provided Tyler Klitsch (3-9) and reliever Josh Strong the support they needed to wrap up the win for Winthrop.  Senior Matt Lobacz led off the inning with a solo shot over the right field fence followed by Stephen Wallace's two-run jack to left field two batters later.  Leighton Daniels capped off the inning with an RBI single to give the Eagles an early 4-0 lead.  Clay Altman joined in on the Eagles' aerial display with his first career home run to lead off the fourth.  Strong's 3.2 innings of one-hit, shutout relief set the table for closer Eric Ruth who struck out the side in the ninth to collect his tenth save of the season and secure the 5-2 win for the Eagles.
 
Winthrop, 20-32 (7-14 BSC) on the season, now turns its attention to a three-game set with the UNC Asheville Bulldogs (15-34, 3-17 BSC).  The Eagles are 66-21 all-time against the Bulldogs including 34-15 while playing them in Asheville.  Winthrop has won 18 of the last 21 games against UNCA including their last meeting in 2011 where the Eagles took two out of three games in Rock Hill.  The Bulldogs come into the series in the midst of a five-game skid including a series sweep at the hands of Coastal Carolina last weekend.  The teams are slated for a 3:00 p.m. first pitch on Thursday, 3:00 p.m. game on Friday, and a 12:00 noon game on Saturday.  Saturday's game will be held at McCormick Field (home of the Asheville Tourists – Class A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies) while the other two games will be held at Greenwood Baseball Field on the campus of UNCA.
 
Todd Joyner (.326 avg.), Tommy Houmard (.322 avg.), and Ian Graham (.304 avg.) lead the way offensively for the Bulldogs.  Houmard leads the team with 31 RBI's on the season while Graham is first in home runs (4) and runs scored (31).  As a team, UNCA is hitting .273 on the season while scoring five runs per game.  The Eagles are expected to see Corey Randall (3-4, 4.39 ERA), Dean Roland (2-7, 4.34 ERA), and Dillon Tabar (2-4, 4.54 ERA) on the mound in the series.  The Bulldog's pitching staff holds a 5.57 ERA collectively while allowing opposing hitters a .293 batting average and striking out 6.1 batters per nine innings.
 
Junior outfielder Cody Dolan (.313 batting average) continues to provide the Eagles with consistency at the plate.  He has reached base in 16 consecutive games as well as hit safely in nine straight games (a personal season best).  Dolan still ranks among the nation's best in toughest to strike out as he is averaging 16.5 at-bats per strike out.  Leighton Daniels has given the Eagles' offense a lift as well.  Daniels has hit safely in six straight games.  During that stretch, Daniels is 11 for 25 (.440) at the plate with four RBI's and three runs scored.  He collected his third three-hit game of the season on Sunday as he leads the team in multi-hit games with 16. 
 
In his second year with the Eagles, reliever Josh Strong has provided huge support for Winthrop out of the bullpen.  Strong (2-1) currently holds a 1.86 ERA in 29 innings pitched while holding hitters to a .218 batting average.  Along with Strong in the bullpen, closer Eric Ruth continues to shut teams down and secure wins for the Eagles.  Ruth currently ranks first in program history with a 0.50 ERA, a .176 opponent batting average, and 12.88 strikeouts per nine innings (minimum 35 innings pitched).  Ruth's 10 saves this season ranks third all-time for the Eagles.  Meanwhile, left-handed freshman Sam Kmiec's 11 strikeouts per walk ranks third in NCAA Division I.  Senior captain Matt Pierpont (4-4) is among the Big South leaders in innings pitched and strikeouts as well. 
 
As a squad, Winthrop is hitting .240 on the season while plating 3.7 runs per game.  The Eagle pitching staff holds an impressive 3.81 ERA while holding hitters to a .268 average and 4.7 runs per game.  Winthrop arms are also striking out 7.3 hitters per nine innings.
 
The expected pitching matchups for the weekend are:
 
5/16       Thursday             3:00 p.m.             RHP Matt Pierpont (4-4) vs. RHP Corey Randall (3-4)
5/17       Friday                    3:00 p.m.             LHP Sam Kmiec (3-7) vs. RHP Dean Roland (2-7)
5/18       Saturday              12:00 p.m.           RHP Joey Strain (3-5) vs. RHP Dillon Tabar (2-4)
 
The Big South series with UNC Asheville can be followed on the Winthrop Sports Network via www.winthropeagles.com.