Box Score by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – Dillon Rudio's fourth home run of the season gave Barton College a 5-4 fifth-inning lead in its regular-season finale against UNC Pembroke on Tuesday, but the Bulldogs could not hold off one of the nation's top offenses.
The Braves, ranked third in NCAA Division II in runs scored, regained the lead with a three-run seventh inning, and added three more runs in the eighth with the help of Jordan Edgerton's seventh home run of the year before holding off the Bulldogs in the ninth to take a 10-8 non-conference victory at Nixon Field.
Edgerton, a consensus 2013 All-American, had three hits and three RBI in the contest and scored three times, while Ben Schmucker added four hits and three RBI for the Braves, now 32-15. Calvin Hawke, Jacob Willis and Matthew Berry each had two hits for Barton, which slipped to 14-30.
UNC Pembroke took the early lead with a four-run third inning. Max Gagnon reached on an error to open the frame, and Daniel Fraga made the Bulldogs pay for the mistake with a home run to right field, his fourth of the year. Edgerton singled and later scored on a wild pitch by Barton starter Duncan Everett, and Schmucker doubled home the final run of the inning.
Braves' starter Jordan DeLoatch (6-0) took a no-hitter into the fourth inning that was broken up when Hawke laced a sharp grounder that handcuffed the second baseman. Hawke then stole second and came home on a single by Andrew Webster, who also scored when Avery Harper doubled off the fence in dead center field. Willis followed with another double off the base of the fence in center, and Berry drove both Harper and Willis home with a single to left, tying the game at 4-all.
One inning later, Rudio took a one-out, one-strike pitch from DeLoatch over the fence in left, putting the Bulldogs into the lead for the first time.
That advantage stood through six innings, as Barton freshman Kerry Walker recorded one of his best outings of the year. Walker took over for Everett to start the fourth inning and tossed three scoreless innings, giving up two hits and no walks while striking out one.
Barton went to its top reliever in the bullpen in Zach Breen (5-2) to open the seventh, but he was immediately greeted with a double into the gap in right-center by pinch-hitter Chad Whitehead. Breen then uncorked a wild pitch, moving Whitehead to third, and walked Fraga before recording his first out.
Edgerton hit a slow roller through the left side for an RBI single that scored Whitehead to tie the game, and Knight singled back up the middle to load the bases. Breen got a fly ball to shallow left for the second out of the inning, but left an 0-2 pitch out over the plate to Schmucker and paid a very high price for it, as the junior drove the ball into center field for a two-run single that put the Braves back in front, 7-5.
Brett Huffman lined a ball off Barton's next reliever, Mike Brienza, to reload the bases, but Brienza got a groundout to first to avoid a huge inning by the Braves.
However, that out only delayed the scoring for UNC Pembroke, who added three more runs off three Barton pitchers in the eighth. Whitehead scored the first run of the frame without the benefit of a hit, reaching on an error, moving to second on a wild pitch, advancing to third on a groundout and scoring on another wild pitch. A walk put another UNCP runner on base, and Edgerton cashed in the free pass with his homer to center field off Snooter Merryman, Barton's usual closer. Merryman entered last weekend having given up just two hits all season, but has now allowed home runs in two straight appearances.
UNC Pembroke's closer, Zach Andrews, who like Merryman was pitching in a non-save situation, gave up a run in the eighth. Hawke produced a one-out single off Andrews, moved to second when Harper was hit by a pitch and scored on a single up the middle by Willis.
Still trailing by four runs entering the ninth, Barton produced a rally off UNCP's fourth pitcher of the afternoon, J.P. Padgett. Pinch-hitter Spiers Miller opened the final inning with a single to right-center, and Tyler Garrett reached on an errant throw by the catcher on a bunt. Ben Youngblood, who had entered the game as a defensive replacement in the top of the ninth, drove in Miller and advanced Garrett to third with a double to center, cutting the deficit to 10-7.
Barton sent the heart of its order – Hawke, Webster and Harper – to the plate, each representing the potential game-tying run, but Padgett limited the trio to a sacrifice fly by Hawke that cut the final margin to two runs.
With the win, UNC Pembroke completed a two-game sweep of the Bulldogs this season, and sent Barton into the opening round of the Conference Carolinas Tournament on a six-game losing skid.
The Bulldogs will face nationally-ranked No. 12 University of Mount Olive in their first game of the double-elimination tournament on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Burlington (N.C.) Athletic Stadium.
