Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-Senior outfielder Phillip Cotten drilled a three-run home run over the 16-foot fence in left field in the the bottom of the seventh inning to rally Barton College to a 7-5 walk-off victory over visiting North Greenville University in Saturday's second game of a Conference Carolinas baseball doubleheader at Nixon Field.
The Crusaders won the opener, 2-0, on the strength of a senior Ryan Woodring complete-game shutout.
Both squads begin league play at 1-1 and Barton (6-14 overall) will host North Greenville (4-12) in the rubber game of the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.
North Greenville took a 4-0 lead in the nightcap but the Bulldogs raced back to tie the game. However, the Crusaders regained the lead, 5-4, with an unearned run in the final inning. Barton once again fought back in the home half of the seventh. Freshman Jacob Willis was hit by a pitch to leadoff the frame and junior pinch hitter Spiers Miller drew a one-out walk before Cotten stepped into the batter's box.
Cotten took the first pitch he was offered by NGU junior reliever Kelvin Minnig yard to empty the Bulldogs bench to greet him at home plate after he completed his game-winning trot behind pinch runner Bobby Jones and Miller.
Barton entered the day with only one home run on the season but the Bulldogs but used the long ball to rally past the Crusaders. Senior Dillon Rudio, who had made several highlight plays at shortstop, jacked a two-run blast a little more down the left field line to cut BC's deficit to 4-2 in the fourth. Rudio has two of the Bulldogs three homers.
Willis pulled Barton to within one run with a single to left that plated freshman Andrew Webster, who led off the fifth with a double down the right field line. Rudio knotted the score at 4-all with an RBI single in the sixth that scored Cotten.
Rudio was 4 for 7 with three RBI and a stolen base as the Bulldogs leadoff hitter in both games. Cotten bounced back from an 0 for 4 performance in the opener by going 3 for 3 with a sac bunt and three runs scored in the second game.
Junior reliever Zach Breen was credited with the win in relief of classmate Kyle Rufer. Breen (3-1) only faced one batter in the top of the seventh but got the final two outs. Willis helped the pitchers out from behind the plate by throwing out a Crusader trying to steal second base before Breen got an inning-ending popup. Rufer allowed five runs (four earned) on 11 hits over 6 1/3 innings. Rufer had three strikeouts and did not walk a batter in the no-decision.
Junior starter Allen Staton, a two-time All-Conference selection, was closing in on his third win for North Greenville when he left the game during the middle of a Rudio at-bat in the bottom of the sixth because of an arm injury. Staton entered the game with a team-best 2.35 ERA but Barton was able to scrap out four earned runs off the ace. Staton helped his own cause with two singles serving as the designated hitter as well.
Sophomore Jessep Polk highlighted play for NGU going 2 for 3 with an RBI groundout in the first and a solo home run to begin the fourth.
Both teams had 11 hits with seven different Bulldogs collecting base knocks. Rudio and Webster each had two hits for the hosts.
Woodring – an All-Conference starter for the Crusaders two seasons ago – looked to be back to form with his 115-pitch complete game in first nine-inning affair. Woodring (1-4) scattered six hits and fanned seven en route to the shutout.
Barton had several chances to score with runners in scoring position in five different innings.
The Bulldogs best chance looked to be in the eighth when Rudio and junior Mitchell Wheeler led off with consecutive singles and completed a double steal to move the tying runs into scoring position. Woodring got the first out with a strikeout before pitching cautiously to junior Snooter Merryman. The four-pitch walk to Merryman loaded up the bases for Barton but it also set up a potential double play force out at every base that Woodring was able to induce for the 6-4-3 twin killing.
Harper led off the ninth with a single to left and Jones stole second base as a pinch runner but Woodring wiggled out of the last jam with three consecutive outs as BC stranded 10 total runners on base.
Junior Brandon Warren made his first start of the season and went six quality innings for the Bulldogs but was tagged with the loss. Warren (0-1) gave up just one run over six innings while tallying four Ks without a walk.
After four shutout innings, NGU was able to scrap out one run on Warren as sophomore Foley George doubled to left and eventually scored on a single up the middle off the bat of sophomore Wheeler Smith.
Smith collected three hits from the nine hole including a two-out triple in the seventh. Smith then scored the Crusaders insurance run on a single by junior Stephen Cantrell.
North Greenville had 11 hits in both ends of the doubleheader. Cantrell matched Smith by hitting safely three times.
Rudio had two of the Bulldogs six hits including the Bulldogs only extra-base hit of the first game with a double in the third.
