Box Score by Cory Guinn
BURLINGTON, N.C. – The Barton defense committed four costly errors in a 3-2 loss to No. 4 seed University of Mount Olive in a Conference Carolinas Tournament game on Friday night.
An RBI single by Andrew Webster and a sacrifice fly from senior Ben Williams put the No. 5 seed Bulldogs ahead early after one inning of play.
However, Mount Olive took advantage of two Barton errors in the top of the fifth inning to tie the game at 2-2 before taking a 3-2 lead in the seventh inning following BC's third error of the night.
The Barton offense stalled in the final innings, leading to the one-run loss. In total, 11 runners were left on base for BC as timely hitting was a problem for the home team.
Trojan starter Austin Hutchison threw a complete game, allowing two runs on nine hits with six strikeouts and four walks over 149 total pitches.
Junior Kerry Walker (5-4) suffered the loss after pitching 7.1 innings on the mound, allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits with four strikeouts. Freshman Ryan Pifer pitched a perfect 2/3 of an inning, while sophomore Andrew Davis threw the final inning of relief and did not allow a hit with one strikeout.
Webster and fellow junior Blake Spangenberg were each 2-for-4 at the plate in the loss.
Barton will face No. 6 seed Pfeiffer University in an elimination game beginning at 11 a.m. tomorrow morning.
