WILSON, N.C. – The Barton baseball team (19-11, 12-6) split a Conference Carolinas doubleheader with Shorter (19-10, 8-7) on Saturday afternoon at Nixon Field. The Bulldogs won the first contest by a 7-6 score for its fifth straight victory while the Hawks took the nightcap, 12-5.
Game One – Barton 7, Shorter 6 (seven innings)
Barton junior outfielder
Salvatore Laimo (Philadelphia, Pa.) broke a five-all tie with the game-winning, two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning and finished with four runs batted in as the Bulldogs earned a one-run victory over the Hawks for the second straight contest.
Shorter's Micah Shipman (Canton, Ga.) hit a solo home run in the losing effort. Barton junior
Nick Napolitano (North Massapequa, N.Y.) improved to 3-0 on the year after earning the victory in relief.
The Hawks' Simon Aluko (Acworth, Ga.) fell to 2-3 after taking the loss.
Game Two – Shorter 12, Barton 5
The Hawks avoided the three-game weekend series sweep courtesy of three home runs as Shorter jumped out to a 10-0 lead in salvaging the split.
Three players hit home runs for the Hawks – Shipman, Will Fincher (Powder Springs, Ga.) and Julian Sauger (Trussville, Ala.) – while Jacob Ramirez (Los Angeles, Calif.) (2-0) allowed just one run over seven innings of work in picking up the victory. Ramirez also struck out seven batters for the contest.
Barton graduate student
Mason Staz (Olin, N.C.) finished with two hits and two RBI while
Terel Tillman (Saratoga Springs N.Y.) fell to 4-3 with the setback.
Barton travels to Ettrick, Va., to take on Virginia State on Tuesday afternoon starting at 3:00 p.m., while Shorter faces Carson-Newman in Jefferson City, Tenn., on Tuesday starting at 2:00 p.m.
