Box Score
Kevin Buczek
GAFFNEY, S.C.-Junior first baseman Collins Cuthrell drilled a go-ahead, two-run homer in the Bulldogs final at bat to rally the Barton College baseball team to a dramatic 2-1 Conference Carolinas road victory at Limestone College on Friday afternoon at Bob Prevatte Field.
Cuthrell smashed the 2-2 offering with two outs in the top of the ninth over the left field fence as Barton improved to 14-14 overall and 5-8 in the league. The Saints fell to 16-15 overall and 6-9 in the conference. The two teams will complete the three-game set with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at Noon.
Cuthrell's team-high seventh home run proved to be the winning blow in Barton's ninth win in its last 11 games. The Rocky Mount, N.C., product moved into a tie for second place in the conference standings in homers as the Bulldogs won a fourth straight league contest.
Senior starter Cameron Ward – an All-Conference and All-Region honoree in 2011 – was closing in on a shutout for Limestone but sophomore Mitchell Wheeler laced a one-out double in the left-center field gap in the top of the ninth to chase Ward from the game. It was only the second hit allowed by Ward in 8 1/3 innings of stellar work.
Reliever Caleb Shelley was able to get the second out in the top of the ninth but the lefty was immediately replaced by the right-handed Kaleb Earls to face Cuthrell. The righty-righty matchup did not pay off for the hosts as Cuthrell went yard for his team-high 23rd and 24th RBI.
A seeing-eyed single by sophomore Avery Harper through the right side of the infield was the Bulldogs lone base knock over the first eight innings. Harper extended his current hit streak to a dozen games while Cuthrell increased his team-best hit streak to 13 straight games.
Limestone had several scoring chances over the first five innings on Barton senior starter Phillip Williams but the Saints were only able to squeak out one run on the veteran southpaw. The hosts had a chance for a big frame in the third putting runners on second and third with no outs but Williams struck out the next three batters to escape without any damage. Limestone finally got on the board in the fifth. Junior Chad Balderman singled and stole second before scoring on a single by classmate Cooper Gunter.
Senior Christian Oliver tossed three innings of scoreless relief of Williams and was credited with the win. Williams finished with five strikeouts and Oliver (4-3) fanned a pair of Saints. Sophomore Ches Lamm (1) became the sixth Bulldog to earn a save on the season with a scoreless ninth.
