CLINTON, S.C. – Presbyterian College baseball came from behind three times in its Saturday game against UNC Asheville and held on for a victory at the PC Baseball Complex to clinch the series, 7-6.
PC (20-15, 3-8 Big South) will look to sweep UNC Asheville (16-20, 3-8 Big South) in the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Blue Hose scored three runs in the sixth inning to take the lead for good. Aaron Lesiak (Greenville, S.C.) earned the win in relief, moving to 4-2 on the year after pitching 2.2 innings of no-hit, shutout ball. Russell Thompson (Alcolu, S.C.) picked up his second save with 1.1 innings of work, fanning two and allowing zero hits.
Jacob Midkiff (Rock Hill, S.C.) went 3-for-3 in the win. Tyler Weyenberg (Marietta, Ga.) posted a pair of hits and a team-high two RBI on what stood up as the winning hit.
The Blue Hose committed zero errors on the day and used strong defensive efforts from all over the field. Senior second baseman Billy Motroni (Goose Creek, S.C.) registered a team-high four assists, continuing his solid defensive play from Friday.
Asheville scored its first run in the first inning on a Michael Kelly solo home run, marking the team's third home run in their first four hits of the series.
Peter Johnson (Seattle, Wash.) tied the game in the bottom of the third, knocking a single to right field to plate Motroni and pull PC even, 1-1.
Asheville answered immediately in the top of the fourth. Two singles and a sacrifice bunt allowed Riley Smith to hit a fly ball deep enough to score the go-ahead run, 2-1. A Pete Guy double to left then scored Tommy Houmard for a 3-1 Bulldogs edge.
Cam McRae (Darlington, S.C.) hit a leadoff home run to kick off the bottom of the fourth, his fourth of the season to tie Jay Lizanich (Greer, S.C.) for team lead. The dinger cut the Bulldog lead in half, 3-2, and sparked a run that saw the Blue Hose move back in front. A hit and a pair of errors put two on and plated one, setting up a TJ Richardson (Sugar Hill, Ga.) sacrifice fly that scored the go-ahead run, 4-3.
Asheville swung back in the top of the fifth. Three hits turned into three runs for a 6-4 lead and PC turned to Lesiak with two outs and the bases loaded. The righthander delivered, inducing a groundout to limit the damage.
An inning later, PC jumped back in front in the bottom of the sixth. TJ Richardson hit a single that struck a running Midkiff for the second out. Brandon Martin (Gray Court, S.C.) followed with one of his two hits and Motroni hit a double to centerfield that plated one. Weyenberg then blooped a double of his own to score two and give PC a 7-6 lead.
PC retired the Bulldogs in order in the seventh and Ethan Wortkoetter (Greer, S.C.) secured a crucial out as PC held the visitors scoreless in the eighth. Thompson then struck out the first two batters of the ninth and Johnson clinched the win with a diving catch in left field for the final out, 7-6.
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UNC Asheville....... 100 230 000 - 6 9 2 (16-20, 3-8 BSC)
Presbyterian College 001 303 00X - 7 12 0 (20-15, 3-8 BSC)
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Pitchers: UNC Asheville - ZAYATZ, Joe; TAPP, Ryan(6); BOYLES, Nick(7); WISEMAN, Zack(8);
SCHAVONE, Nick(8) and . Presbyterian College - DEES, Beau; KEHNER, Brian(5); LESIAK, Aaron(5);
WORTKOETTER, Ethan(8); THOMPSON, Russell(8) and .
Win-LESIAK, Aaron(4-2) Save-THOMPSON, Russell(2) Loss-ZAYATZ, Joe(1-5) T-2:52 A-223
HR AVL - KELLY, Michael (1).
HR PC - McRAE, Cam (4).
Weather: Mid 70s, clear, wind ESE 4 mph
