LAURINBURG, N.C.-Barton College starters Bentley Massey and Hunter Meekins each tossed a complete game en route to a 3-1 and 4-3 Conference Carolinas sweep of host St. Andrews Presbyterian College on Saturday afternoon at Clark Field.
The Bulldogs (14-24 Overall, 7-11 Conf.) ended a six-game league skid and earned the sixth and final bid to the 2011 Conference Carolinas Baseball Tournament hosted by BC and the Wilson Tobs next weekend. Barton will begin the double-elimination tourney against regular season champion and arch rival Mount Olive College on Thursday at 7 p.m. in historic Fleming Stadium.
Juniors Chris Rawlings (Charlotte, N.C.) and Ryan Daughtry (Princeton, N.C.) each supplied the visitors with four hits and two RBI. Daughtry – who has multiple hits in 18 of the Bulldogs 38 games for a team-best .362 average – finished with three doubles.
Senior Michael Cantwell (Burlington, N.J.) and junior R.J. Blasi (Swansboro, N.C.) accounted for half of the Knights (8-31, 2-18) 12 hits with three apiece. Cantwell and two other SAPC seniors were honored Saturday during the hosts "Senior Day".
The two teams will conclude conference regular season play with a single game on Sunday scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
GAME ONE: Barton 3, St. Andrews 1
Massey, a right-handed junior from Wilson, N.C., held St. Andrews to one run on five hits over nine innings as Barton posted a 3-1 victory in the opener. Massey's (4-5) second complete game featured a season-high 11 strikeouts.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a two-run lead in the top of the first as the first four Barton batters reached base to begin the contest. Freshman David Gibbons (Wilson, N.C.) led off with a single, Rawlings walked, and Daughtry singled to load the bases. Sophomore Zac Crumpler (Wilson, N.C.) drew a bases loaded walk to start the scoring and sophomore Phillip Williams (Gibson, N.C.) hit into a double play that gave Rawlings time to score.
Williams, who graduated from Scotland High School in Laurinburg, finished 2-for-4 with a triple in the sixth and a double in the ninth. Williams scored an insurance run for BC after his leadoff double in the ninth on an RBI-groundout by senior Jordan Smith (Longmont, Colo.).
Freshman Sebastian Ray (Plant City, Fla.) accounted for the Knights lone run. Ray doubling in the fourth was SAPC's only extra base hit of the game and he later scoring on a double steal.
GAME TWO: Barton 4, St. Andrews 3
Barton jumped out to a four run advantage and then held off a late rally by St. Andrews to complete the doubleheader sweep with a 4-3 victory in the second game.
The Knights scored twice in the bottom of the seventh and had the potential game-tying run on base but Meekins recorded his sixth strikeout to end the game. Meekins, a right-handed senior from Manteo, N.C., limited SAPC to seven hits in his team-best sixth complete-game. Meekins (3-6) fanned six Knights.
Barton once again jumped out to a first inning lead it would not relinquish. Rawlings had an infield single and scored on a Daughtry double in the right field gap. The Bulldogs final three runs came in the fourth as Rawlings tagged a two-run single and then scored on another right field double by Daughtry.
Rawlings had three of the Bulldogs nine hits while Daughtry and freshman John Hunter (Hertford, N.C.) each supplied a pair of base hits.
The Knights broke up Meekins shutout bid with a run in the fifth inning before making things interesting in the final frame of the scheduled seven-inning game. Senior Jason Murray (Syracuse, N.Y.) drew a leadoff walk and then scored on a triple by Cantwell, who scored on a groundout by Blasi. Ray became the potential tying run on first base after reaching safely on a two-out error before Meekins hurled the game-ending called third strike to the ensuing batter.
