Box Score by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – Barton College pitchers Ricky Jernigan, Mike Brienza and Brandon Warren combined on a two-hitter Tuesday afternoon against Coker College, but it was still not enough to overcome four errors and a Fico Kondla seventh-inning home run as the Bulldogs fell 2-1 in a non-conference baseball meeting at Fleming Stadium.
The victory was the sixth in a row for the Cobras (9-3), and their second over Barton in seven days. The Bulldogs dropped to 4-7 on the year.
Kondla's homer down the left-field line, his first of the season, came just two pitches into the seventh inning of the newly inserted reliever Brienza (1-3), breaking a 1-all tie that had stood since the third inning.
The blast by the2013 NCBWA All-Region selection made a winner of reliever Forrest Arnold (2-0), who worked two perfect innings to earn his second win of the season, both against the Bulldogs. Andrew Goot came on with two outs in the eighth and finished the game to earn his second save of the season.
Barton scored its only run of the game in the first inning off Coker starter Adam Webb. Freshman Tyler Garrett pulled the very first pitch he saw from Webb down the right field line for a double, and scored one batter later when Andrew Webster's grounder to short was thrown wide of first base by Coker shortstop Shea Bell.
Dillon Rudio followed with a walk to give the Bulldogs two runners on and no one out, but Webb got two infield grounders and a flyball to end the threat with minimal damage. It was a familiar theme in the game for Barton, which had five hits and drew four walks, but could not turn them into runs, leaving nine runners on base.
In its five-game win streak coming into Tuesday's game, the Cobras had averaged eight runs per game. But Barton starter Ricky Jernigan had an outstanding game against the defending Southeast Regional champions, giving up just one hit in six innings of work – that one to the first batter of the game, Sammy Song.
Using errors or walks and stolen bases, Coker three times moved runners into scoring position against Jernigan with less than two outs, only to watch the sophomore from Belews Creek, N.C., pitch his way out of the inning unscathed.
The only time Jernigan did not escape was the top of the third. Coker's Dustin Russell reached base on a throwing error by second baseman Ben Youngblood to open the inning, moved to second on Shea Bell's sacrifice bunt and scored from there two batters later when Barton left fielder JT Bunce misplayed a fly ball.
Youngblood would make a terrific diving stop on a grounder by Russell to end the fifth inning and help keep the Bulldogs close, but Barton could not take advantage of its offensive chances.
After the first inning, the best opportunity for the Bulldogs to score came in the top of the eighth, when Webster singled with one out and moved to third on Mitchell Wheeler's two-out single to left off Coker reliever John Lauttenbach. However, Goot entered the game and got a grounder back to the mound off the bat of Avery Harper to preserve Coker's one-run lead.
A leadoff walk drawn by Jacob Willis to open the ninth and a two-out single by Youngblood to left gave the Bulldogs one final chance, but Goot got a groundout to first from Garrett to end the game.
Garrett led the Bulldogs offensively with two hits, a walk and Barton's only run scored.
Barton will face Catawba College, the 2012 Southeast Regional champions, on Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Nixon Field.
