WILSON, N.C.-Sophomore catcher Zac Crumpler drove in a pair of runs and junior Bentley Massey tossed a complete-game gem as the Barton College baseball team completed a three-game Conference Carolinas sweep of Coker College with a 3-1 win Sunday afternoon at Nixon Field.
The Bulldogs only needed one hour and 56 minutes to record its fifth consecutive victory that pushed Barton's overall record to 12-15 and leveled its league ledger to 5-5. The Cobras exited with 10-19 and 3-8 records.
The local Wilson duo of Crumpler and Massey highlighted play for the Bulldogs, who will go for six straight wins on Tuesday when BC hosts the University of North Carolina at Pembroke at 3 p.m. The Braves are currently ranked No. 7 nationally by the ABCA and No. 12 by both the NCBWA and College Baseball Lineup with new polls being released Monday and Tuesday.
Massey (3-3) held Coker to just four hits in his first complete game of the year. The 6-foot-0 righty had command throughout fanning seven Cobras and not issuing a walk.
The Bulldogs weekend starters have tossed 40 1/3 innings out of 41 totals innings with four complete games and boast a 2.63 ERA in Barton's current five-game win streak.
Junior Jake Frazier (Indian Harbor Beach, Fla.) broke up Massey's shutout bid in the sixth with a sacrifice fly that scored that scored senior Daniel Hiatt (Elwood, Ind.), who started the rally with a double to left-center.
Immediately after the visitors got on the board, Massey buckled down and retired the last 11 Cobra batters in order.
Crumpler was the catalyst to Barton's offense with an RBI-single in the third and a solo home run in the eighth. Crumpler's blast that hit 3/4 of the way up the scoreboard behind the left field fence was his second collegiate home run and first of the year.
Sophomore J.D. McCarty (Colonial Heights, Va.) started the scoring for Barton with a single in the second. McCarty and senior Jordan Smith (Longmont, Colo.) each tallied a pair of base hits.
Smith increased his team-best hit streak to eight games. Crumpler has hit safely in six consecutive contests. Senior Matt Willis (Wilmington, N.C.), who walked and scored in the second, ripped a double down the left field line in the sixth to extend his current hit streak to five games.
Sophomore starter Tyler Witzel (West Melbourne, Fla.) kept Coker in the game, going the distance before suffering the loss. Witzel (3-4) allowed three runs (two earned) on nine hits and had six K's.
