NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – Four runs in the final two innings nearly pulled the Presbyterian College
baseball team even in its game against Charleston Southern on Saturday, but the
Buccaneers proved able to hold off the surging Blue Hose for an 11-9 CSU win.
PC falls to 20-31 on the year and 5-18 in Big South
Conference play. Charleston Southern improves to 27-24 and 14-9 in league
action.
Tony Micklon (Sumter, S.C.) led the Blue Hose with a
game-high five RBI on three hits, including an eighth-inning home run. Nate Horton (Spartanburg, S.C.) also homered for PC and Gabe Grammer (Irmo, S.C.),
Mack Hite (Abbeville, S.C.) and Kenny Bryant (Goose Creek, S.C.) each drove in
a run as well.
Brad Zebedis (Rock Hill, S.C.) and Hite both extended their
hitting streaks to nine games and eight games, respectively.
Buck Mosteller (Woodruff, S.C.) took the loss to move to 3-6
on the year.
Charlie McCready earns the win for CSU to improve to 5-2 and
Ali Williams recorded his second save. Jared Sustar posted three RBI for the Buccaneers.
PC manufactured a run in the opening inning to find the
scoreboard first in the game. A fielder's choice put Hite on with one out and a
wild pitch moved the senior to second. Hite scored three batters later when
Micklon drove a pitch to centerfield for an RBI single and a Blue Hose run.
The 1-0 lead did not last long as Charleston Southern put up
five runs in the bottom of the inning on four hits. Chandler Knox (Columbia,
S.C.) entered the game and closed out the frame with no further damage as the
Bucs went ahead, 5-1.
The second inning saw PC narrow the game to one run. Horton
led off for the Blue Hose and crushed his third home run of the season to right
field to claw closer at 5-2. The offense did not stop there, however, as PC loaded
the bases for Bryant two outs later. Bryant used a keen eye at the plate to
draw a walk that scored Kyle Galloway (Mint Hill, N.C.) and keep the bases
full.
With the pressure on, Micklon came through for the second
time in as many innings by delivering an infield single to plate Hite and put
PC within one, 5-4.
The Buccaneers grabbed two runs in the third but PC
responded with one of its own in the top of the fourth. Bryant walked for the
second time on the day and a Micklon walk pushed him to second base. Grammer
then drove Bryant home on a single to left field, cutting the CSU lead to 7-5.
Charleston Southern tallied three runs in the fifth and one
more in the sixth before PC struck again in the eighth. With two away, Bryant
and Zebedis both singled off of new pitcher Brennan Dorsett to bring Micklon to
bat. Micklon responded by driving a pitch down the left field line and over the
wall for his 10th home run of the season, a three-run shot that cut
the CSU lead in half, 11-8.
The Blue Hose refused to quit, scoring a two-out run in the
ninth. Andrew Williams (Augusta, Ga.) reached first on a single and Hite lifted
a double to right center to score the speedy Williams. Unfortunately for PC,
the Blue Hose could not score again as they fell by an 11-9 margin.
The teams meet tomorrow for the final game of the series at
2 p.m.
