Box Score
by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C.-In his final collegiate appearance, Barton College senior pitcher Bentley Massey worked 5 1/3 effective innings, scattering three hits and giving up just one earned run in helping the Bulldogs edge Coker College, 6-4, in the final game of a Conference Carolinas baseball series Saturday at Nixon Field.
Phillip Williams provided most of the offense for Barton (17-31, 8-17), producing a two-run double in the first inning and a two-run homer in the third. Jimmie Davis held the Cobras in check over the final 3 2/3 innings, giving up just one run despite six hits to earn his second save of the year.
Chad Nader and Brinley Griffin each had a pair of hits for Coker, while Fico Kondla drove in a pair of runs for the Cobras, whose post-season tournament hopes might have been dashed with their second straight loss to the Bulldogs.
Coker (23-23, 13-14) now must hope that Limestone goes on the road and sweeps Erskine in a doubleheader today in order for the Cobras to advance to next weekend's Conference Carolinas Tournament, which will be held April 26-29 at historic Fleming Stadium.
The Cobras got off to a quick start in the game, scoring two runs in the first inning despite not getting a hit off of Massey (1-5). Jake Frazier drew a leadoff walk, Chad Nader moved him to second with a sacrifice, and Griffin drew a walk. Both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch, allowing Frazier to score on Fico Kondla's foul ball that Williams grabbed on a great play along the fence in right field. Griffin moved to second on the foul out, and scored one batter later when Frank Suarez reached on a Barton error.
The Bulldogs, however, rallied right back to tie the game in the bottom of the first. Tyler Barrington led off with a single to right, and was replaced on the base paths by Chris Rawlings following a fielder's choice grounder. Two batters later, Ryan Daughtry walked, setting the stage for Williams' two-out, two-run double into the gap in right-center.
Both teams failed to convert on opportunities in the second inning, as Coker left two runners in scoring position in the top half of the frame, and Barton stranded runners at the corner in the bottom half of the inning.
Coker got its first hit of the game – a slow roller through the middle of the infield by Griffin – with one out in the third, but Massey retired the next two batters in order to close the inning. Barton then handed him the lead in the bottom of the third when Daughtry drew a one-out walk and Williams followed with a blast over the fence in right-center off Coker starter Andrew Goot (6-6).
Massey, who has been battling injuries all season, worked a perfect fourth inning, striking out a pair, and his teammates gave him a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the frame. After Jackson Pardue drew a leadoff walk, Michael DelSardo collected one of his three hits on the day, moving Pardue to third. He scored one batter later on Barrington's slow-rolling groundout to short.
Coker reliever Sean Tracy, who had come into the game to face Barrington, then hit Rawlings with a pitch. Rawlings moved to second on a fielder's choice by Collins Cuthrell that forced out DelSardo at third, and then scored on a single to center by Daughtry.
Barton had a chance at an even bigger inning, with runners now at the corner and Williams at the plate. But Daughtry was trapped between first and second, drawing a throw from the catcher to the shortstop. Cuthrell then tried to race home on the play, but was gunned down by the shortstop at the plate to end the inning.
Coker, now trailing 6-2, finally got its first solid shots off of Massey in the fifth. Taylor Martin ripped a leadoff single to center, and moved to second on a wild pitch. Two batters later, he scored on Chad Nader's double to center. Nader stole third and Griffin walked, but Kondla ground into an inning-ending double play to limit the Cobras to just one run in the inning.
With one out in the sixth, Massey was finally lifted, and was greeted with hugs from his teammates and a standing ovation from the Barton crowd. He had given up three hits, walked four and struck out a pair in his final Barton appearance.
Over the remainder of the game, Coker's relief tandem of Tracy and Russ White would give up just one more hit to Barton, and the Cobras would make things interesting with several hits off of Massey's replacement, Davis.
Coker used a two-out rally to score a run in the seventh, cutting the deficit to 6-4. Nader and Griffin both singled up the middle, and then Kondla ripped a hard single to center, moving Griffin to second and scoring Nader. Suarez followed with a single to left, but Barton left-fielder Avery Harper made a perfect throw to the plate to gun down Griffin for the final out of the inning.
The Cobras used a two-out single and a hit batsman in the eighth to threaten, but Davis got a foul out down the right field line to end the inning. In the ninth, Griffin walked, bringing the cleanup hitter, Kondla, to the plate as the tying run. But Davis induced a 6-4-3 double-play ball to end the game.
In addition to Massey, the Bulldogs said farewell to two other seniors, Rawlings and Daughtry, on Saturday. Rawlings scored twice in his final game, and Daughtry went 1-for-2 with an RBI and a pair of runs scored in his last Barton appearance.
