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Box Score 2
by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C.-Barton College rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning – capped by senior Phillip Williams' two-run walk-off single – to edge Erskine College, 11-10, in the second game of a Conference Carolinas baseball doubleheader Saturday at Nixon Field.
The Bulldogs, now 12-14 overall and 4-8 in league play, also took game one, 5-4, to complete a three-game sweep of the Flying Fleet, who slipped to 18-13 overall and 6-8 in the league. Barton has now won seven of its last nine games and is 9-5 at home on the year.
Dillon Rudio went 6-for-8 in Saturday's twin bill, scored four times and drove in a pair of runs to pace Barton. Avery Harper had two RBI in each game, and Clay Martin went 3-for-7 with two runs scored and two RBI.
Erskine was paced by Drew Willingham, who went 4-for-7, scored three times and drove in a pair of runs.
Trailing 10-8 in its final at-bat of game two, Barton's Phillip Cotten reached base on a fielding error to lead off the inning. One out later, pinch-hitter J.T. Bunce was hit by a pitch, moving Cotten to second base. Rudio followed with a single through the right side, scoring Cotten to cut the deficit to 10-9. Mitchell Wheeler then reached on catcher's interference, loading the bases for Williams, who punched a 1-2 pitch from Erskine reliever and reigning Conference Carolinas Pitcher of the Week Kit Carter (5-1) through the right side to score Wheeler from third and Bunce from second with the winning run.
The rally capped a wild contest in which the lead changed hands four times and both teams left at least 10 runners on base.
Barton quickly jumped out to a 6-0 advantage in the bottom of the first, getting a sacrifice fly by Williams, a two-run double down the left field line by Harper, a two-run single up the middle by Martin and an RBI double to left by Ben Youngblood to chase Fleet starter Tyler Jones.
Erskine chipped away at the deficit against Barton starter Brandon Warren, getting two runs in the second inning, two more in the third, and then taking the lead at 7-6 with three unearned runs in the fourth inning on two Barton errors.
The Bulldogs tied the game again at 7-all with a run in the bottom of the fourth on Collins Cuthrell's sacrifice fly, and then regained the lead at 8-7 in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out RBI single up the middle by Rudio.
Barton reliever Duncan Everett took over for Warren in the fourth and gave up just two hits and no runs over the next 2 1/3 innings. However, the Fleet finally got to Everett in the seventh. Brandon Wooten drew a leadoff walk, and one out later pinch-hitter Sam Cothran doubled off the fence in left, moving Wooten to third. Chase Corn followed with a single through the right side to score Wooten with the tying run, and Hanlon Maivelett then grounded out to short to drive in Cothran and regain the lead at 9-8.
The Bulldogs had their chances to tie the game again in both the seventh and eighth innings, but a failed squeeze bunt attempt in the seventh killed one chance and a strikeout left two stranded in the eighth.
The Fleet added what they hoped would be an insurance run in the top of the ninth off Barton's third pitcher, Ches Lamm. Wooten led off the frame with a single to left-center, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and scored an unearned run from there when a grounder to short was thrown wide of first.
However, Barton's rally in the ninth helped make a winner of Lamm, who gave up two hits and the one unearned run in two innings of work to improve to 3-0 on the year.
In game one, the Bulldogs scored all of their runs in the third inning to take a 5-0 advantage against Erskine starter Heath Gray (4-4). Zac Crumpler started the scoring with a one-out solo home run to left. Youngblood was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a single to left-center by Rudio and scored on a single to right-center by Wheeler. One out later, Cuthrell doubled to left-center, scoring Rudio and moving Wheeler to third. Harper then singled up the middle, scoring both Wheeler and Cuthrell to give Barton its five-run lead.
From there, Gray would retire nine of the next 10 Barton batters he faced in the seven-inning contest to post his sixth complete-game of the year.
His team gradually chipped away at the lead held by the Bulldogs and starter Kyle Norville. The Fleet got on the board in the fourth on a solo home run by Cody Spence, his fifth of the year. Spence drove in another run in the sixth on a groundout after Willingham had doubled and advanced to third on Logan Galliher's single down the left-field line.
After Maivelett homered and Corn tripled to lead off the seventh, Norville gave way to reliever Christian Oliver. Willingham pulled Erskine to within a run at 5-4 on a one-out sacrifice fly that scored Corn, but Oliver struck out Galliher to end the game and earn his second save of the season. He protected the win for Norville, who scattered 10 hits and the four runs over six innings, walking one and striking out two to improve to 2-3 on the year.
The wins helped Barton complete its first three-game conference sweep since March of 2011 against Coker.
Cuthrell and Harper are riding 11 and 10 game hit streaks, respectively.
Barton is scheduled to complete its 10-game homestand on Wednesday when it hosts 18th-ranked Catawba College in a 2 p.m. contest. The Bulldogs return to conference action on Friday when they visit Limestone College.
