Box Score
by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-Sophomore shortstop Collins Cuthrell reached base three times and extended his hitting streak to 15 games for host Barton College in a 16-6 non-conference baseball loss to Wingate University on Tuesday afternoon at Nixon Field.
The Wingate Bulldogs have won 11-of-13 games and improved to 25-16 overall. The Barton Bulldogs had a three-game home win streak snapped to slip to 12-22.
Wingate entered the game leading NCAA Division II in total hits (428 hits in 40 games for an average of 10.7 hits per game) and total home runs (63 in 40 games for 1.6 home runs per contest) and the Bulldogs continued to swing the bats with pop with 18 base knocks including four home runs over the left field fence on Tuesday.
Junior All-American Brian Yeung hit a pair of homers while senior 2011 NCBWA National Player of the Year Dodson McPherson and classmate Casey Allison each hit a solo blast. Wingate hit six long balls against Barton in the first meeting on February to total 10 homers in the two games.
Nine different Barton batters accounted for BC's nine hits. Junior Zac Crumpler had the hosts only extra base hit, a double he legged out in the fourth inning.
Barton took an early 1-0 lead on a single by junior Clay Martin in the second.
Freshman starter Brandon Warren cruised through the first two innings retiring all six Wingate batters in order before the dangerous bats heated up in the third. Wingate started the frame with five singles in the first six batters before Yeung opened up the game with a three-run shot. Allison immediately followed with a solo shot into the left field yard that gave Wingate seven runs on seven hits.
Wingate tacked on runs in four consecutive innings starting in the fifth to pull away. The visitors led 16-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth before four singles in Barton's last at-bat closed the final margin of defeat to 10 runs.
Freshman Jackson Pardue ripped a run-producing single up the middle in his first collegiate at-bat to highlight the ninth. Junior Phillip Williams also recorded his team-high eighth multiple-RBI game with a two-run single in the stanza. Cuthrell was 1-for-3 with two walks and an RBI-single.
Yeung, Allison and senior Chris Vazquez accounted for half of Wingate's 18 hits with three each. Yeung drove in four total runs. Allison's deep fly was his team-leading 14th of the year.
Senior Ryan Fitzpatrick moved over .500 at 3-2 by tossing the first five innings for Wingate before four relievers finished off the game with one inning each. Fitzpatrick allowed two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three.
Barton next hosts a Conference Carolinas series against league newcomer North Greenville University this weekend. The opener will be played at Fleming Stadium on Good Friday at 5 p.m., and Saturday's doubleheader will be contested at Nixon Field beginning at Noon.
