Box Score Box Score
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College baseball team was defeated 6-5 by UNC Asheville on Tuesday evening at Russell C. King Field. The Bulldogs built a 5-0 lead after four innings. Wofford battled back with five late runs, but it was not enough for the Terriers.
Wofford is now 19-17 on the season and 4-8 in the Southern Conference, while UNC Asheville is 13-24 overall. The Terriers had eight players record hits, while Sterling Dye had two RBIs and Adam Kearney hit a solo home run.
The Bulldogs got off to a strong start, with two runs in the first inning. In the top of the fourth, UNC Asheville led off with a home run by Justin Schumer for a 3-0 lead. Singles by Beau Zinman and Johnny Martinez turned into runs with a double by Kevin Mattison to take a 5-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, Mo Seay led off the inning with a single which was followed by a single from Emre Caglayan. Sterling Dye then hit a single and advanced to second on a throw which scored two runs for a 5-2 game.
Wofford added a run in the bottom of the seventh when Adam Kearney hit a home run over the left center fence. In the bottom of the eighth, Shane Kirkley walked, stole second and advanced to third on an error. Emre Caglayan reached first base on an error and Kirkley scored on the play to make it a 5-4 game.
For UNC Asheville in the top of the ninth, the first two batters were retired before Reed Kreiser hit a double to left field. A single from Elliott Arrington drove in Kreiser for a 6-4 lead.
Heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Terriers were at the top of the order. A single from Kyle Behrendt , followed by Shane Kirkley reaching base by being hit hard on the left arm, gave the Terriers two runners with two out. Keith Munns entered the game to pinch hit and pounded out a single to left center to score one run. However the Terriers ended the inning with a strikeout and two runners left on base with the 6-5 final score.
Wofford starter John Cornely went 3.1 innings and allowed six runs on five hits with four strikeouts. Reid McElveen threw 2.2 innings with no hits and two strikeouts, while Drew Sheridan went an inning with a strikeout. Scott Summers had three strikeouts in his one inning of work, while Michael Gilmartin closed the final inning with two hits, a run and two strikeouts.
For UNC Asheville, starter Chris Brookey went 4.0 innings with one hit and three strikeouts. Dillon Waters went an inning with three hits and two runs. Jeremy Hall went an inning with a strikeout and Grier Harrington threw an inning with two hit, a run and a strikeout. Justin Schumer went the final two innings with two runs, two hits and four strikeouts.
Wofford left ten runners on base, while the Bulldogs stranded eight. Wofford stole three bases and UNCA stole one base. Both teams had eight hits on the night and the Bulldogs committed the only two errors of the game.
On Wednesday, April 16, Wofford will play at Presbyterian College at 3:00 pm in a game that was added to the schedule. The Terriers will begin a three-game conference series at Furman on Friday night in Greenville.
