Box Score
by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-Junior reliever Christian Oliver picked up his second consecutive victory and redshirt freshman Tyler George drove in the game winning run for a second straight contest to lead host Barton College to a 4-3 Conference Carolinas baseball victory over Erskine College at Nixon Field Friday afternoon.
The Bulldogs (8-15 Overall, 2-7 Conf.) and the Flying Fleet (13-11, 4-6) will conclude the three-game series with a doubleheader beginning at Noon on Saturday. Barton has won three consecutive games for the first time this season.
Oliver tossed 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief for senior starter Bentley Massey to earn the win. Oliver (2-1) took the mound with the bases loaded in the fifth and got the final out on a popup on his first delivery to the plate. The Gordonsville, Va., product put Erskine runners on base in each of the last four innings but wiggled out of each frame without any harm.
George was 3-for-4 with three consecutive groundball singles. George was coming off his walk-off heroics against Bloomsburg on Tuesday and continued his hot play with the game-winning RBI-single in the sixth against Erskine.
The squads traded the first two runs of the game via the long ball with Barton first baseman Phillip Williams lacing a laser down the right field line in the bottom of the first and Erskine center fielder Chase Corn clobbering a deep shot into the trees beyond the right field fence in the top of the second.
Williams moved into a tie with senior Ryan Daughtry for the Bulldogs team lead in home runs with four blasts. Corn accomplished the same feat moving into a tie for the conference and Flying Fleet homer lead with seven round trippers with junior Drew Willingham.
Barton regained the lead in the home half of the second on three consecutive hits. George started the rally with a single up the middle and then advanced to third on a double in the left field gap by classmate Spiers Miller. Junior outfielder Tyler Barrington then plated George and Miller with his own two-bagger to left.
Erskine knotted the score for a second time in the fourth. Corn led off with a single and senior Zach McCarthy ripped a two-run shot off the left field scoreboard to level play.
BC junior Clay Martin poked a single to right field with one out in the sixth and then moved over to second on a costly passed ball before scoring the game-winning run on George's third base knock, a rope past the diving second baseman that rolled into center field.
The Fleets best chance at tying the game came in the top of the ninth. A leadoff single by freshman Cody Spence and a one-out single by Willingham put the potential game-tying and go-ahead runs at the corners. Barton first year head coach Josh Simmons decided to stick with Oliver after BC's normal closer Williams made his first start on Tuesday. Oliver came through for Simmons with a first pitch popup followed by a deep fly out to left to end the game.
Eight of the Bulldogs nine batters hit safely as Barton outhit Erskine 11-9. The Flying Fleet left 11 runners stranded on base.
Massey only allowed three hits in his 4 2/3 innings of work but two of them went yard that cost him three earned runs. Massey had both of the Bulldogs strikeouts.
