CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Presbyterian College baseball loaded the bases in the ninth but could not push the tying run across as the Charlotte 49ers held on for a 4-3 win at Hayes Stadium on Tuesday night.
PC moves to 14-7 on the year and will head to UCF for a three-game weekend series that begins on Friday at 6:30 p.m. Charlotte improves to 6-9.
The Blue Hose filled the bags in the top of the ninth with two away and Cam McRae (Darlington, S.C.) slammed a 2-0 pitch deep to left field, but the 49er outfielder tracked it down to seal the result.
Russell Thompson (Alcolu, S.C.) took the loss in two innings of relief, allowing one run. He led PC pitchers with two strikeouts and did not issue a walk to move to 2-1.
Tanner Chock (Loris, S.C.) started the game and pitched three innings while allowing one run and Robert Moss (Jupiter, Fla.) threw 1.1 innings with two runs on three hits. Michael Trebendis (Fayetteville, Ga.) and Brian Kehner (Marietta, Ga.) each pitched a third of an inning before Ethan Wortkoetter (Greer, S.C.) pitched a shutout eighth.
Tyler Weyenberg (Marietta, Ga.) went 3-for-5 with an RBI and Peter Johnson (Seattle, Wash.) had two hits to extend his hitting streak to 11 straight games. Ryan Hedrick (High Point, N.C.) also drove in his 15th RBI to take the team lead in that category.
Three straight two-out hits in the bottom of the second gave Charlotte a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second.
PC answered with a pair of two-out hits of their own in the top of the third. Glen Casaceli (Jupiter, Fla.) picked up PC's first hit with a single up the middle and Weyenberg cashed in, powering a double to the right field wall to score Casaceli from first and tie the game, 1-1.
The Blue Hose threatened the fourth. A single and hit-by-pitch put runners on before a balk moved them to second and third with one away, but two strikeouts ended the half-inning before PC could strike.
Charlotte loaded the bases with one out in the fourth and the Blue Hose turned to Moss. His first pitch yielded a force out at home and the 49ers popped out soon after to leave the bases full.
A two-out double pushed Charlotte back ahead in the bottom of the fifth, 3-1.
In the bottom of the frame, back-to-back singles from Cam McRae and Peter Johnson set up a Ryan Hedrick RBI single to left that cut Charlotte's lead to one, 3-2. Jacob Midkiff followed with an infield single to plate Johnson to tie the game, 3-3.
Russell Thompson entered the game in the sixth and promptly retired the side in order.
Charlotte loaded the bases to start the seventh and appeared headed for a big inning, but Brandon Martin (Gray Court, S.C.) made a diving catch in left field to help limit the damage to one run on a sac fly, 4-3.
Charlotte's Luke Gibbs went 3-for-3. Micah Wells (1-1) earned the win in relief and Logan Sherer picked up his fourth save.
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Presbyterian College 001 002 000 - 3 9 1 (14-7)
Charlotte........... 010 020 10X - 4 13 1 (6-9)
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Pitchers: Presbyterian College - CHOCK, Tanner; TREBENDIS, Michael(4); MOSS, Robert(4);
KEHNER, Brian(5); THOMPSON, Russell(6); WORTKOETTER, Ethan(8) and KOSKI, Rob. Charlotte -
Trevor Gay; Nate Traugh(6); Jacob Craver(7); Micah Wells(7); Logan Sherer(9) and Nick Daddio.
Win-Micah Wells(1-1) Save-Logan Sherer(4) Loss-THOMPSON, Russell(2-1) T-2:52 A-689
Weather: 60 degrees, cloudy, no wind
