No. 4 Baseball Sweeps Doubleheader Against St. Andrews

LAURINBURG, N.C.- The baseball team went on the road for an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) series on Friday. The team opened the conference series against the St. Andrews University Knights with a doubleheader sweep, scoring 34 runs between the two games.

Game One:

A five-run fifth inning changed the game for the Bulldogs. The team entered the inning trailing 2-1, with a Daniel Stewart RBI single that scored Chris Catalano, being the team's run in the third inning. Kurtis Reid gave the team the lead in the fifth, hitting a two-run home run that brought in Kruise Newman. A double by Kolton Reynolds moved the team's lead to 5-2 as Catalano and Daniel Stewart both scored. After moving to third on a passed ball, Reynolds was the fifth run of the inning, scoring on a sacrifice fly by Corbin Shaw and making the score 6-2. Devin Dixon moved the lead to five runs with an RBI single, scoring Reynolds in the seventh inning. St. Andrews cut the team's lead to just one run by scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh. 

TWU ended the game with an 18-8 lead, scoring nine of their final 11 runs in the eighth inning. The team opened the eighth inning by loading the bases with two walks (Reid and Brayan Espinoza) and a double (Catalano). Stewart brought in Reid with a sacrifice fly while Reynolds brought in Catalano with a double. Shaw hit a single to left field that brought in Josh Shelly and Reynolds, making the score 11-6. 

As the inning continued, the Bulldogs loaded the bases again. A passed ball took Shaw off third and allowed him to score while the other runners moved up a base. Newman got on base with a walk, and a double to center field by Reid brought in Jonathan Bosque and Devin Dixon. Newman scored on a passed ball. A fielder's choice allowed Reid to score, giving the team a 16-6 lead at the end of the top of the eighth. 

The final two runs came in the form of back-to-back home runs in the ninth inning, hit by Reynolds and Shaw. 

Reynolds, Shaw, and Reid each finished with four RBIs.

Game Two:

TWU held a 10-0 lead after three innings.

Catalano got the scoring started in the second inning with a double to left field, bringing in Newman and Espinoza. Shelly's sacrifice fly brought Dixon in while a single by Stewart gave Catalano the space to score. The team ended the inning with a 6-0 lead as Stewart and Reynolds both scored on Shaw's single.

Two two-run home runs in the third inning propelled the team to their ten-run advantage. The bombs were hit by Geremy Garcia and Shelly. 

Shelly hit his second home run of the game in the fifth inning, this time a solo shot. In the sixth inning, a double by Garcia gave Espinoza a chance to score while Bosque hit a double that brought in Garcia. Shelly made it three doubles in the inning, bringing in Bosque to move the team's lead to 14-0.

The final two runs in a 16-0 win were brought in by Espinoza's two-run home run, bringing in Newman. 

Blake Peytong struck out 12 batters in the win.

The two wins moved the team's record to 35-10 overall and 20-6 in the AAC.