04/02/05

Baseball
FIRST PLACE PRIDE TAKES TWO FROM BISHOPS!
Game Two: GC 10, NCWC 8 

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Greensboro College Pride baseball team swept a USA South conference doubleheader with a 10-8 victory over visiting N.C. Wesleyan. 

With the winds playing havoc on the ball at War Memorial Stadium, the Pride were led at the plate by Larry Lockhart with a 3-for-5, 4 RBI, 2 HR performance. Also getting multiple hits for GC was Kevin Mong, 4-for-5, 4 RBIs, all of which came on a grand slam homerun. 

The Pride (18-9, 8-3) opened the first inning with a run, for the second consecutive outing. Larry Lockhart smashed a home run to center field that bounced off the scoreboard, giving GC a 1-0. 

GC starting pitcher Mong (3-1) pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits, four runs, one earned run, while striking out five Bishop batters. The Pride bullpen--Torrey Poholsky, Brandon Jorth, and Josh Maras--combined for two innings of work, allowing five hits, four earned runs, and one strikeout to complete the game. 

A rain/lightning delay, beginning in the top of the second, delayed the game for one hour and 29 minutes. Once the game was back underway, the Bishops scored in the second to tie the game, when Brian Massey crossed the plate, following an error on Pride shortstop Jeff Gregory. 

GC reassumed the lead in the home half of the third, when Gregory singled to right field to lead-off the inning. Gregory moved to second base on a grounder, and advanced to third on a wild pitch by Kyle Robertson. With Brent Justice at the plate for GC, a grounder to second base scored Gregory and gave The Pride a 2-1 lead. 

The biggest hit came in the GC fifth inning, when Mong helped his own cause by lifting grand slam home run over the right field wall. The inning started with a Gregory double to center, and was followed with a walk of Jeremy Morrison. Justice reached base for GC with a single back to the pitcher, loading the bases for Mong. The fifth run of the inning crossed the plate three batters later, when Chad Alligood capitalized on a single to left from Sutton, to score for the 7-1 lead. 

The Bishops did manage one run in the top of the sixth inning, when Brian Massey reached on an error, and advanced to second base. Massey scored when the following batter, Ryan Snyder doubled over the head of Jesse Sutton in right field, making the score 7-2 in favor of GC. 

GC added two additional runs in the sixth, again off the bat of Lockhart. Lockhart brought in Justice from second base, and the home run gave the Pride a 9-2 advantage. 

N.C. Wesleyan again scored in the visitors half of the inning, this time in the seventh after a leadoff single to left field, would allow him to score from second following a double to right center by Mark Wooten. The Bishop rally continued when Brian Massey doubled to left field, scoring Wooten from third. 

GC maintained a 9-4 lead through the eighth when the Bishops scored four runs on four hits, the biggest coming with a three-run home run that towered over the right field wall by Matthew Smith. Smith brought in Robert Johnson and Nathan West in succession. Prior to the Smith home run, Johnson reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Raymon Bizzell from third, cutting the Pride lead to 9-8. 

In the bottom of the eighth, GC added an insurance run with a third Lockhart hit of the game, scoring pinch runner Jeffrey Smith from second base, for what proved to be the 10-8 GC final.

Greensboro College 10, N.C. Wesleyan 8 (Apr 02, 2005 at Greensboro, N.C.) (Game 2)

N.C. Wesleyan....... 010 001 240 - 8 12 1 (18-12, 7-7 USA South)
Greensboro College.. 101 052 01X - 10 15 4 (18-9, 8-3 USA South)

Pitchers: N.C. Wesleyan - ROBERTSON; SMITH,H(5); RICHARDSON(8); FAISON(8). Greensboro College -MONG; POHOLSKY(7); JORTH(8); MARAS(8).
Win-MONG(3-1) Save-MARAS(1) Loss-ROBERTSON(1-1) T-4:00 A-84
HR NCWB - SMITH,M.
HR GCB - LOCKHART 2; MONG

Game one: GC 2, NCWC 0

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Andrew Keever scattered three hits to lead the way for Greensboro College in a 2-0 victory over visiting N.C. Wesleyan, in the opening game of a scheduled seven inning doubleheader. 

GC was led at the plate by Larry Lockhart, the lone Pride batter with multiple hits, going 2-for-3, with an RBI. Taylor Kennedy added the other RBI for GC, going 1-for-2 from the plate. 

Keever (5-1) pitched a complete game, allowing three hits, two walks, and striking out three N.C. Wesleyan batters.

The Pride (17-8, 7-3) scored the game's opening run, when Jeremy Morrison reached on a single to the shortstop, and moved to second on a throwing error by N.C. Wesleyan's Nathan West. Morrison scored two batters later, on a single to left field by Larry Lockhart. 

Keever lost his bid for the no-hitter when a single to right center by the Bishops Robert Johnson. Matthew Smith followed with a single to left for N.C. Wesleyan, putting runners in scoring position, however The Pride's defense ended the sixth with the 1-0 lead in tact.

Lockhart led off the bottom half of the sixth for GC with a double that bounced off the left field wall. Lockhart moved to third on a fly out by Kevin Mong, adding an insurance run one batter later when Kennedy roped a liner into centerfield, giving The Pride a 2-0 lead. 

A Bishop rally fell short in the seventh, when the GC defense again rose to the occasion, this time with runners on first and third, when a lined shot to Chad Alligood ended the game.

Greensboro College 2, N.C. Wesleyan 0 (Apr 02, 2005 at Greensboro, NC) (Game 1)

N.C. Wesleyan....... 000 000 0 - 0 3 3 (18-11, 7-6 USA South)
Greensboro College.. 100 001 X - 2 6 1 (17-8, 7-3 USA South)

Pitchers: N.C. Wesleyan - RICE. Greensboro College - KEEVER.
Win-KEEVER(5-1) Loss-RICE(5-2) T-1:27 A-84

GC record 18-8, 8-3; Streak W4; Up next vs. NCWC, 4/3, 3 p.m.