Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-After Shippensburg University rallied for a 12-4 win in Saturday's first game at Nixon Field, host Barton College prevented a three-game baseball sweep by the Raiders with a dominating 16-5 victory in the second game.
The win in the series finale snapped a four-game losing streak for the Bulldogs, who moved to 4-6 on the season. The Raiders return to Pennsylvania with an even record of 3-3.
Barton will wrap up its four-game home stand against Southeast Region foe Wingate University in a battle of Bulldogs on Tuesday at 2 p.m.
Senior Chris Rawlings and junior Phillip Williams led Barton offensively with five hits apiece. Junior Tyler Barrington, sophomore Collins Cuthrell and freshman Spiers Miller all scored three times. Senior Ryan Daughtry drove in five runs in the nightcapand Barrington knocked in four.
The Bulldogs exploded for four home runs off the bats of Daughtry, Cuthrell, Williams and Barrington.
Barton doubled up the Shippensburg, 4-2, after four innings of Saturday's opener with the help of a two-run blast by Williams in the fourth. The Raiders then took over in the top of the sixth with eight unanswered runs that featured a pair of two-run doubles followed by a two-run homer from sophomore Pat Kregeloh.
The Raiders tacked on two more runs in the eighth and four Shippensburg relievers held BC to just one hit in the final five innings. Sophomore Shawn Patterson went four innings and was credited with the win.
Junior lefty Kyle Norville only allowed two runs over the first five innings but was tagged for four more earned runs in the sixth and suffered the loss to fall below .500 at 1-2.
Williams was 3-for-4 and Rawlings was 3-for-5. Barton stranded 11 runs on base.
In the second game, Shippensburg snagged a quick 3-0 lead just three batters into play before Barton took over with multiple runs in five of its six trips to the plate. After a pair of leadoff walks to start play, junior Cody Kulp smashed a three-run homer over the center field fence.
A two-run double by junior Zac Crumpler pulled Barton to within one, 3-2, after one complete before three runs in the second put the hosts ahead for good. Cuthrell knotted the score with a leadoff bomb, his first collegiate home run. An run-producing groundout by Barrington put Barton in front and Rawlings capped the frame with an RBI-double.
Daughtry's team-leading second home run, a two-run digger to right-center in the bottom of the third increased the Bulldogs lead to 7-3.
The Raiders scored an unearned run in the fourth before Barton pulled away to its biggest win of the season with six runs in the fifth and three more runs in the sixth. The final scoring was highlighted by a bases-clearing, three-run double by Daughtry in the fifth and a three-run long ball by Barrington in the sixth.
Barrington's round tripper was his first four-bagger in a Royal Blue and White uniform.
Six Bulldogs had two hits as Barton totaled 15 base knocks.
Sophomore starter Dylan Newton settled down after the rocky start for the win. Newton improved to 2-0 on the young season after going 5 2/3 innings with two strikeouts. Classmate Zach Beachem closed the game in a non-save with 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Beachem has not allowed a run in his first three appearances.
