Box Score Game 1 Box Score Game 2
ELON, N.C. -- The UNC Greensboro baseball team dropped a doubleheader to Elon Saturday at Latham Park. Elon won the first game, the completion from Friday's suspended game, by a 9-2 score. The Phoenix also took the nightcap, 12-5.
In the early game, which was continued today after being suspended in the top of the second inning on Friday night, UNCG took the 1-0 lead in the fourth inning, scoring an unearned run on Danny McClure's single up the middle.
Elon evened the score in its half of the inning when Evan Erickson's grounder brought home Paul Bennett. The Phoenix grabbed the lead in its next at bat when Drew Davis scored home on a wild pitch.
The Spartans knotted the contest at two in the sixth as Jake Linney scored on a passed ball.
The Phoenix plated the deciding run in the seventh when Chris Vasami's single through the drawn in infield brought home Chris Price. Elon then exploded for six runs in the eighth inning, highlighted by a three-run homer to left from Adam Weaver, his first career home run.
Ryan Basham (4-3) earned the win for Elon. He went 7.1 innings and allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits and two walks. Patrick Currin (4-3) go tthe loss for the Spartans. Currin went 5.2 innings and gave up three runs, two earned, on eight hits. He relieved Chris Mason to start Saturday. Mason went 1.0 inning on Friday night.
In the nightcap, the Spartans picked up two runs in the first inning as David Adams' single brought home Jay Maule and Linney. Elon got one back in the bottom of the opening inning when Price scored on Erickson's single.
The Phoenix grabbed a 3-2 lead in the third inning when Price blasted his third home run of the year over the rightfield wall. Bennett rode home on the bomb after being hit by a pitch to start the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth, Elon got the first two men on thanks to a single and hit batter. The runners were sacrificed to second and third by Gary Morris. An RBI ground out from Bennett brought home Elon's fourth run of the night. Price's double to left plated the fifth run.
The Elon lead was increased to 6-2 in the fifth inning when Matt Stocco's sacrifice bunt was muffed by the Spartan third baseman. The errant throw allowed Erickson to score and Stocco to go to third. Stocco scored Elon's seventh run on a Davis sac fly.
Mason led off the Spartan sixth with a double off the leftfield wall which was quickly followed by two quick outs. A single through the left side of the Phoenix infield off the bat of McClure drove in Mason and cut the lead to 7-3.
Weaver led off the bottom of the sixth with an infield single and moved to second on Morris' single. Bennett's single up the middle brought Weaver around to score, but Morris was gunned down trying to advance to third.
UNCG cut into the lead again in the seventh, when, with one out, Lance Cole walked two hitters and then gave up a single to Mason that brought in Jeremy Roulin with the fourth Spartan run of the evening. Following the second out of the inning, Adams hit a single into right to score Mason and cut the lead to 8-5.
Elon pushed its margin to 12-5 in the bottom of the eighth inning when Morris doubled home Weaver. Bennett's single put runners on the corners and his steal put men on second and third. Price's double down the rightfield line drove home both runners to give the Phoenix an 11-5 lead. A ground ball that was booted by the Spartan shortstop allowed Price to score the fourth Elon run of the inning.
The victory was earned by Elon's Lance Cole, who improved to 5-2 on the season. Cole allowed five runs on seven hits over 6.1 innings of work. Nick Starnes suffered the loss, falling to 5-4 on the season. He allowed eight runs, seven earned, on nine hits. He also fanned six and walked four.
The two teams will finish the three game set tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. from Latham Park.
