ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? The Presbyterian College baseball
team posted an impressive 15-2 thumping of UNC Asheville Saturday afternoon in
the team's season finale.
The Blue
Hose end the year at 13-38 overall and 7-19 in Big South play. Asheville falls to 9-42 on the year and 5-21
against conference competition.
Redshirt-senior
Jared Combs belted out a career-high five hits in six at bats to go along with
four RBI. Andrew Williams tallied a three-hit effort while Mack Hite, Tony
Micklon and Gabe Grammer all notched multi-hit games.
Williams
and Micklon each drove in three while Kenny Bryant drove in two. Gabe Grammer
and Cory Lyda each had one RBI. Lyda, Combs, Horton, Micklon and Zac Rhinesmith
all crossed home plate two times while Williams, Hite, Dane Fehr, Bryant and
Grammer all scored once.
Combs, Fehr
and Micklon all accounted for four-bag hits while Combs posted three doubles.
PC pounded
out 17 hits while amassing 15 runs. Mitchell Odom, throwing his last career
game, went the distance. He gave up just two runs (one earned) on four hits. He
struck out two while walking just one.
Head coach
Elton Pollock's team jumped on top with four runs in the first and never looked
back. With two down, Lyda drew a base on balls. He moved to second on Combs'
single. Nate Horton's walk loaded the bases for Micklon, who promptly singled
through the left side of the infield for a 2-0 lead. Bryant then doubled home
Micklon and Horton for the 4-0 advantage.
Odom shut
down the Bulldogs for the first two frames, but the home team managed to plate
two runs in the third to slice PC's margin to just two.
As neither
team scored in the fourth, the Blue Hose widened their lead to five
after five
frames. Hite singled to third to lead off the inning. He moved to second on
Lyda's bunt single. Combs then came to the plate and cleared the bases as he
launched a three-run bomb over the left center field fence. Micklon followed
Combs up with a solo shot of his own for the 8-3 lead.
In the
seventh, Combs doubled to center field but was thrown out attempting to stretch
the hit into a triple. Horton walked and went to second when Micklon was hit by
a pitch. Bryant reached on a fielder's choice as Micklon was out at second.
Bryant moved to second on a wild pitch to put both runners in scoring position.
Rhinesmith
walked to load the bases. Grammer then took one for the team as he was hit by a
pitch, driving in Horton. Williams singled up the middle to drive in two,
making the score 11-2 in favor of the visitors.
Pollock's
team continued to tack on runs late in the game. Fehr came in to pinch hit for
Micklon in the ninth and in his last collegiate at bat, he drilled a homer over
the left field fence. Later in the inning, Williams singled home Rhinesmith,
who had reached on an error. Hite singled to load the bases for Lyda. Lyda
reached on a fielder's choice, but was credited with one RBI as Grammer scored.
Combs then doubled to center field, driving home Williams for the final 15-2
margin.
The Blue Hose
just have six student-athletes graduating this year and return an abundance of
talent.