04/03/05
Baseball
NCWC 11, GC 10 (10 innings)

GREENSBORO, N.C. — The opportunity for the Greensboro College baseball team to sweep a weekend series with N.C. Wesleyan fell short with an 11-10 loss at War Memorial Stadium on Sunday.

Pride starting pitcher Chatham Bray pitched into the ninth, where he faced two batters and left with a runner on second, leading 5-3.  Bray departed after pitching eight innings, surrendering four earned runs, two walks, while striking out five Bishop batters.  Following his departure, four Pride pitchers allowed a combined eight hits, and three runs in the loss.

Chad Alligood paced The Pride at the plate, hitting 1-for-5, however driving in 4 RBIs.  First baseman Kevin Mong (1-3, 2 RBI) connected on his fourth home run of the season.  Also getting multiple hits for GC was Larry Lockhart (2-6, 2 runs), Jeremy Morrison (3-of-5, 2 runs), and Jeff Gregory (2-for-5, RBI).  

For the third consecutive game in the series, GC scored the opening run of the game, this time in the third inning.  With two out, Morrison reached on walk, and moved to third on a deep single to centerfield by teammate Brent Justice.  Justice followed with an attempted steal of second, and on a throwing error by Bishops catcher Cale Strickland moved to third, allowing Morrison to score the unearned run.  

The Bishops tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the fourth, after loading the bases, a sacrifice fly to right field by Ryan Snyder scored Mark Wooten from third.  

GC added three runs on four hits in the home half of the fourth, the first coming on Mong’s fourth long ball of the season, which traveled over the right centerfield wall.  Taylor Kennedy followed with a single for The Pride, and later scored on an Anthony Aversano double to right field.  Gregory drove home Aversano with a single to left, giving GC a 4-1 lead.

With the bases loaded in the fifth, GC making the score 5-1, scoring Lockhart from third on a sacrifice fly to center by Alligood.  The Pride got two hits in the inning, both on singles, setting up the scoring opportunity.  

The score remained 5-1 until the seventh, when the Bishops added their second run of the game.  Snyder led the inning off with a walk, scoring from second on a single to left field by Strickland.  

N.C. Wesleyan rallied by scoring six runs on six hits in the ninth inning, and taking the lead 8-5.  The Bishops were kick-started with a leadoff triple by Brian Massey.  Massey scored on the ensuing batter, when Ryan Snyder doubled to right field.  Three batters later, a double by Strickland brought Snyder to the plate, for the 5-4 Pride lead.  Matthew Smith tied the game on a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring teammate and pinch runner Chris Pecora from third.  GC walked the bases loaded before a Josh Lipford single to center field scoring Robert Johnson and Brad Gardner for a 7-5 lead.  N.C. Wesleyan’s Massey singled to center, scoring Wooten from third, before GC’s Lockhart ended the inning on a throw to third base.  

Yet The Pride answered with three runs in the home half of the ninth, sending the game into extra innings.  Mong drove home the first run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Brent Justice.  An error by Bishops centerfielder Lipford allowed Alligood to clear the bases, scoring the game-tying runs when Lockhart and Anthony Corona crossed the plate.  

The Bishops continued their hot bats in the top of the 10th inning, scoring three runs on four hits, while taking advantage of the lone Pride error of the game.  Just as in the ninth, a triple proved to be the difference, this time a Ray’mon Bizzell hit to center field.  Bizzell scored on the following play, when a ball bounced off the glove of Jeff Gregory allowed Pecora to drive in the go-ahead run.  Two batters later, Robert Johnson singled to center field driving in two runs, scoring Gardner and Pecora, making the score 11-8.

A GC rally fell short in the bottom half of the inning, for an 11-10 final.  With the bases loaded, Corona walked to score Morrison from third.  Alligood singled to left field, moving Brad Coats to third, and scoring Justice.  With just one out, The Pride’s Brandon Stanford and Aversano were not able to take advantage of the bases loaded situation.    

N.C. Wesleyan 11, Greensboro College 10 (Apr 03, 2005 at Greensboro, N.C.)
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N.C. Wesleyan.......    000 100 106 3 - 11 16  3      (19-12, 8-7 USASouth)
Greensboro College..  001 310 003 2 - 10 13  1      (18-9,  8-4 USASouth)
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Pitchers: N.C. Wesleyan - PEARSON; PUTNAM(5); FAISON(9); JAMES(10). Greensboro College - BRAY; MARAS(9); AUGONE(9); COMBS(10); SHOWE(10).
Win-JAMES(2-0)  Loss-SHOWE(3-1)  T-3:24  A-87
HR GCB - MONG (4).
BRAY faced 2 batters in the 9th.
PUTNAM faced 2 batters in the 9th.

GC record 18-9, 8-4; Streak L1; Up next vs. @ EMU, 4/7, 3 p.m.