Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 by Cory Guinn
WILSON, N.C. – The Barton College baseball team used 19 hits to defeat rival University of Mount Olive 8-4 in game one of Friday's twin bill before falling 8-2 in the night cap at Fleming Stadium.
Barton moved its overall record to 23-11 with an 11-6 mark in Conference Carolinas, while Mount Olive now stands at 17-17-14 with a 9-8 league record.
Game One: Barton 8, Mount Olive 4
The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first game of the day behind an RBI double from junior Andrew Webster in the first inning and back-to-back RBIs from senior Ben Williams and redshirt-junior Chris Davis in the third inning.
Mount Olive got a run back in the fifth inning and cut the BC lead to 3-2 in the seventh following a solo home run from pinch hitter Brandon Day.
Freshman Charlie Vaughan drove in two runs with an RBI single in the seventh to extend Barton's lead to a 5-2 edge. RBI singles from junior Calvin Hawke and freshman Gatlin Pate, and a run scored via wild pitch move the BC lead to a six-run edge in the eighth inning of play.
The Trojans led off the ninth with back-to-back solo home runs before the Bulldogs were able to get out of the inning and secure the win.
Sophomore Dylan Ward (6-2) went eight full innings, allowing four runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts. Freshman Ryan Pifer pitched a scoreless inning of relief, allowing one base runner on a walk.
The 19 hits in game one for Barton were the most for BC against Mount Olive in at least the last five years as Webster and fellow junior Tyler Garrett were each 4-for-5 from the plate.
Garrett finished a home run short of the cycle with two runs scored, while Webster also scored twice and drove in a run with a double. Hawke and Pate were both 3-for-5 with an RBI, while Williams was 2-for-4 at the plate.
Game Two: Mount Olive 8, Barton 2 (Seven inn.)
Mount Olive earned a split in the doubleheader with three home runs in the second game, giving the Trojans six combined long balls across the two games.
The Trojans went ahead 1-0 in the top of the first before an RBI double from Webster, his second of the day, tied the game at one-all in the bottom half of the inning.
BC took a 2-1 lead in the third after a throwing error by Mount Olive's Bruce Zimmerman allowed Garrett to score all the way from first.
Mount Olive homered in both the fourth and fifth innings to take a 4-2 lead before a three-run sixth inning put the Trojans ahead by five runs. Zak Orrison's second home run of the game in the top of the seventh inning made the final count 8-2 in favor of the visiting team as Barton went down in order to end the game.
Sophomore Trent Fennell (4-4) suffered the loss after allowing seven runs (six earned) on six hits with two strikeouts, while Pifer pitched 1.2 innings, allowing one run on one hit with two strikeouts in his 12th relief appearance of the season.
Webster led the offense once again with a 2-for-3 performance including a double and an RBI, while Garrett and Hawke were each 1-for-3 with a run scored.
Barton and Mount Olive conclude the three-game series with a single game tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. at Nixon Field.
