Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – The Barton College baseball team pounded out 25 hits, 12 of them for extra-bases, in claiming a non-conference doubleheader sweep against visiting Chowan University Tuesday at Nixon Field, 9-5 and 13-6.
Freshman Andrew Webster doubled and tripled in the opener, driving in four runs, while junior Avery Harper doubled twice and homered in the nightcap, also driving in four runs to lead the Bulldogs (13-24) offensively.
Duncan Everett (2-4) allowed just one run on five hits in 4 2/3 innings of relief work to collect the pitching victory in game one. Mike Brienza (2-3), the second of five pitchers used by the Bulldogs in the second contest, was credited with the game two win.
Freshman Tanner Woods went 5-for-8 at the plate in the two-game set to lead the Hawks (16-23).
Game one did not start well for Barton, as the Bulldogs committed two errors in the first inning in spotting Chowan a 1-0 lead. A single by Dillon Rudio and a triple to right three batters later by Webster got that run back for Barton, but the Hawks struck again in the second inning, using four hits and another error by the Bulldogs to score three times and chase Barton starter Kerry Walker after just an inning and a third.
Everett replaced Walker and immediately got a double-play grounder to end the inning, and the Barton offense rewarded him with a huge inning on offense in the bottom of the second.
A leadoff double by Ben Williams, a bunt single by Phillip Cotten and a Chowan error loaded the bases with no one out, and a walk issued by Hawks starter Brian Vincent (0-2) to Tyler Garrett forced in the inning's first run. One out later, Calvin Hawke singled to left to drive in a run and pull the Bulldogs within one at 4-3.
With the bases still loaded, Vincent hit Mitchell Wheeler with a pitch to force in the tying run, and Webster followed with a double to the fence in left-center that cleared the bases, giving Barton its first lead of the contest at 7-4. The next batter, Jacob Willis, doubled into the right-field corner, driving in Barton's seventh run of the inning and giving the Bulldogs an 8-4 lead.
Chowan reliever Emory Chopp, who took over for Vincent in the third inning, kept Barton in check the rest of the game, giving up just two hits and striking out three in four innings of work. He did give up six walks to the Bulldogs, and one of those helped Barton score a run in the fifth inning without the benefit of a hit.
However, Everett limited the Hawks to just one more run as well, that coming in the top of the fourth when Tyler Burden drew a one-out walk, moved to second on a single by Woods and scored on a single up the middle by John Hunter.
Burden scored two runs for the Hawks in the game, while Josh Catalano, Blake Eure and Matt Wisniewski each collected two hits and scored a run.
In addition to Webster, Hawke and Willis also had two of Barton's nine hits in the game.
The second contest saw the Bulldogs erupt for 16 hits, their second-highest total in a game this season. Barton collected five of those hits in the second inning, when it scored five times off Burden (0-4), the game two starter for Chowan.
Matthew Berry started the big inning with a leadoff single down the left field line. One out later, Willis reached on an infield single to short, and Blake Spangenberg followed with an RBI single up the middle. Following a fielder's choice and a walk, Spiers Miller delivered a two-run single up the middle, and Harper added a two-run double in the gap in right-center to put the Bulldogs up early, 5-0.
Chowan got on the scoreboard with a run in the top of the fourth when Evan Holton doubled to lead off the frame and later scored on Wade Wyatt's RBI groundout. However, Barton effectively put the game away with another big inning in the bottom of the fourth, this time scoring four times to take a 9-1 lead.
Miller drove in his third run of game on a one-out double to left, and Barton scored a second run on the play on an errant throw from the outfield to third base. Burden made a mistake by leaving an 0-2 pitch out over the plate to the next hitter, Harper, who ripped it directly over the left field foul pole for a two-run homer, his third of the season.
From that point, both sides allowed their reserves to get some playing time. One of those players for the Bulldogs, Bobby Jones, led off the Barton fifth with a triple into the gap in right-center, and pinch-hitter Will Cunningham later produced an RBI double to right-center as part of a three-run inning. Ben Youngblood also had an RBI single in the frame.
Chowan scored two runs on five hits in the sixth inning, one on an RBI double by starter Josh Martin, and the other on Evan Seymour's pinch-hit single through the left side. The Hawks added two more runs in the seventh on an RBI single by reserve Stephen Hux and a sacrifice fly by Martin.
In addition to the three hits by Harper, the Bulldogs also received three hits in the contest from Spangenberg, who also scored twice.
The Bulldogs received a solid pitching performance from Zach Breen, who stepped out of his normal relief role to make just his second start of the year. Breen gave up just three hits and struck out three in 2 2/3 innings of scoreless work, but was lifted after nearing the 50-pitch count.
Barton will play its next eight games on the road, beginning with an important Conference Carolinas series at third-place Pfeiffer University beginning Friday. The Bulldogs are currently in fifth place, but are just a half-game ahead of sixth-place Belmont Abbey College and one game ahead of seventh-place King University. The top six teams at the end of the regular season qualify for the Conference Carolinas Tournament, whose winner receives an automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Tournament.
