WILSON, N.C. – The Barton baseball team (25-18, 17-10) swept a key Conference Carolinas doubleheader from UNC Pembroke (34-12, 17-9), 8-2 and 7-5, on Senior Day Sunday afternoon at Nixon Field.
Game One – Barton 8, UNC Pembroke 2
Barton junior
Tanner Halvorson (Eau Claire, Wisc.) improved to 9-2 on the year after throwing his eighth complete game of the year. Halvorson scattered six hits while striking out four batters in the victory.
Clinging to a 3-2 advantage entering the bottom of the sixth inning, the Bulldogs broke the contest open with a five-run frame highlighted by a two-run double from junior outfielder
Raymond Paniagua (Blue Springs, Mo.).
Barton junior catcher
James Holladay (Washington, D.C.) hit the game-winning, two-run double in the fourth frame while junior outfielder
Carelle Gonzalez (Bridgeton, N.J.) added a solo home run in the frame for the victory. Gonzalez also had two RBI in the contest.
For UNC Pembroke, Ethan Ott (Chesapeake, Va.) drove in both runs for the visitors to go along with a solo home run while Jonathan Jacobs (Lumberton, N.C.) (6-3) suffered the loss.
Game Two – Barton 7, UNC Pembroke 5
Gonzalez hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the third inning to help erase a 3-0 deficit while Holladay came through with another game-winning, two-run hit later in the frame as the Bulldogs completed the sweep. Gonzalez has a team-leading 11 round-trippers on the season.
Barton freshman
Walker Fuller (Virginia Beach, Va.) (1-0) earned the win in relief while junior
Brett Anderson (Milford, N.H.) registered the final four outs for his third save of the year.
UNC Pembroke's Will Hood (Raleigh, N.C.) drove in a pair of runs but Chase Jernigan (Fayetteville, N.C.) fell to 1-1 after being tagged with the loss for the Braves.
Barton hits the road to take on Virginia State on Tuesday beginning at 3:00 p.m., in Ettrick, Va., while UNC Pembroke hosts Mount Olive on Friday beginning at 6:00 p.m.
