Box Score Game Box (pdf)
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – On Wednesday night at McCormick Field, the Wofford baseball team defeated UNC Asheville 9-6. The Terriers scored five runs in the third inning, but the Bulldogs took a 6-5 lead with four runs in the seventh inning. Mac Doyle hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to secure the win for the Terriers.
Wofford is now 18-20 on the season and UNC Asheville is 15-22 overall. The Terriers were led by Mac Doyle with three hits and four RBIs and James Foster with three hits. The Bulldogs were led by Grant Gajdosz with three hits and Mike Vaughn with three hits.
The Bulldogs took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a solo home run by Grant Gajdosz. In the top of the third, Matt Moore led off with a single and he moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Alex Lee. Lee was on third after a throwing error and Clark Wise reached first on a walk. A double steal scored Lee to tie the game at one. The runners moved to second and third on another throwing error and a walk to Konstantine Diamaduros loaded the bases with one out. A single up the middle by Mac Doyle scored two runs for a 3-1 lead. Landon Bennett added a two-out single that drove in two runs for a 5-1 advantage.
UNC Asheville had two hits to open the bottom of the third. A ground out by Beau Zinman scored one run made it a 5-2 game after three complete innings. After Wofford went in order in the top of the fourth, the Bulldogs added two singles in the bottom of the fourth before a double play ended the inning.
Three singles by the Bulldogs to open the bottom of the fifth inning loaded the bases, but two strikeouts and a ground out left all three runners stranded. With two out in the top of the seventh, Clark Wise hit a double off the right field wall and Josh McKinney walked. However both runners were left on base at the seventh inning stretch.
The Bulldogs had runners on the corners with two out in the bottom of the seventh when a single by Ian Graham drove in one run to make it a 5-3 game. A double down the left field line by Danny Baatz scored two more runs to tie the game at five. A single to shallow right by Cody Buch drove in a fourth run in the bottom of the seventh to take a 6-5 lead.
Mac Doyle led off the eighth with a triple off the center field wall. A single by James Foster scored Doyle to tie the game at six, but the Terriers left Foster at third to end the Wofford half of the eighth.
The Terriers led off the top of the ninth with a pinch hit single by Josh Hyman and Josh McKinney walked with one out. A double steal put the runners in scoring position and a ground out RBI by Konstantine Diamaduros gave the Terriers a 7-6 lead. A home run over the wall in deep center by Mac Doyle pushed the Wofford lead to 9-6. It was the ninth home run of the season for Doyle. In the bottom of the ninth, a double and a walk gave the Bulldogs two runners on base with nobody out, but three straight strikeouts ended the contest.
Wofford starter Alex Wilson threw 3.1 innings and allowed seven hits and two runs. Pete Noordsy picked up two outs in the fourth inning. Jesse Morris went 2.2 innings and allowed five hits and three runs with three strikeouts. Ryan Traylor allowed two hits and a run in a third of an inning. Bobby Streisel (1-1) threw the eighth with one strikeout. John Cornely entered the game in the ninth and gave up one hit and struck out three for his seventh save of the season.
UNC Asheville starter Dean Roland went 2.1 innings and allowed five runs on three hits with one strikeout. Carson McLean threw two-thirds of an inning with one hit allowed. Drew Spear went two innings and retired six batters in a row. Rene Martinez threw an inning with one hit given up. Ethan Steible allowed one hit along with a strikeout in one inning on the mound. Brian Connolly gave up one run on two hits in two-thirds of an inning. Dillon Tabar (3-3) allowed one hit in two-thirds of an inning. David Ricker gave up three runs on two hits in the final two-thirds of an inning.
Wofford and UNC Asheville split the season series. The Terriers will head to Western Carolina on Friday for the start of a three-game series. The teams will play at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, and 2:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. The Catamounts game on Wednesday night at Tennessee was rained out.
