GREENSBORO, NC Albany scored eight unanswered runs as the Great Danes evened up a three-game series at one game apiece with an 8-3 win over UNC Greensboro Saturday afternoon at UNCG Baseball Stadium.
UNCG (5-14) took an early 2-0 lead after plating a pair of runs in the bottom half of the first inning. Shane Thompson led off the frame with a walk and advanced to second when Jermaine Mitchell followed with a single to rightfield to extend his hitting streak to 13 games. Guy Welsh then picked up his team-leading 14th RBI of the season with a single to centerfield to score Thompson. The Spartans added another run with a double steal when Welsh swiped second and Mitchell stole home.
Albany (4-11) collected its first run of the afternoon in the top half of the third when second baseman Al Barbato hit a sacrifice fly to score Rashad Barksdale who triple to left-centerfield before him. The Great Danes tied the game in the fourth on an RBI single from centerfielder Brad Daniels, and then took the lead in the fifth on a two-out RBI single courtesy of Steve Wyland.
Catcher Tom Hill crushed a two-run home run off the rightfield wall in the top of the seventh to highlight a three-run inning for the Great Danes. Albany added another two runs in the top of the eighth on an RBI single by Daniels and scored a second run on a wild pitch to take an 8-2 lead.
Brandon Harvey picked up his third RBI of the weekend when he drove home Greg Feltes with a single to rightfield to account for the final UNCG run.
Great Dane starting pitcher Tony Kirbis (1-0) earned his first win of the season after allowing two runs on seven hits in six innings of work. Alexander Beaulieu collected his third save of the season after recording the final two outs of the ninth inning after Giorgio Fuda loaded the bases.
Freshman Clinton McKinney (0-3) took the loss in relief of starter Ryan Falcon after surrendering three runs on four hits in three plus innings on the hill. Patrick Currin and Greg Martin also saw action on the hill on the afternoon.
Mitchell, Welsh and Sean Snell all finished the day with 2-for-4 performances at the plate to lead the Spartans while Dave West went 3-for-4 for the victors.
UNCG and Albany put the finishing touches on a three-game series Sunday afternoon with the rubber match scheduled to begin a 1 p.m. from UNCG Baseball Stadium.
AGATE:
Albany 8, UNC Greensboro 3 (Mar 18, 2006 at Greensboro, NC)
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Albany.............. 001 110 320 - 8 11 2 (4-11)
UNC Greensboro...... 200 000 001 - 3 9 1 (5-14)
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Pitchers: Albany - Kirbis, Tony; Ott, Chris(7); Fuda, Giorgio(9); Beaulieu, Alexander(9).
UNC Greensboro - Ryan Falcon; Clinton McKinney(4); Patrick Currin(7); Greg Martin(8).
Win-Kirbis, Tony(1-0) Save-Beaulieu, Alexander(3) Loss-Clinton McKinney(0-3) T-3:06 A-269
HR ALB - Hill, Tom (1).
McKinney faced 1 batter in the 7th.
- UNCG -
