CHARLESTON, SC – The Bulldogs came out of the gate first with a two-run lead, but four-run rallies in the fourth and the ninth pushed UNC Greensboro out in front and onto an eventual 9-3 victory Saturday afternoon at Riley Park in Charleston, SC.
Following the game two victory, the Spartans improved to an overall 24-13 record with a conference mark of 10-4. The Citadel dropped to 22-17 with a league record of 10-7.
The Citadel held a two-run lead heading into the fourth inning, but a four-run rally pushed UNCG past the Bulldogs, 4-2. Catcher Sean Snell drifted a high, fly ball just past the dirt in right center. The ball was touched, but uncaught as Greg Feltes safely crossed the plate. Two bats later, left fielder Drew Gehringer rocked a bases loaded triple to the right center warning track to give the Spartans the 4-2 lead.
UNCG upped their lead by one more in the sixth as second baseman Tim Carrier dropped into home off of a Gehringer sacrifice fly to left field.
In the home half of the seventh, the Bulldogs chipped the lead down by one with a Sonny Meade single to centerfield.
Already holding a 5-3 lead heading into the ninth inning, UNCG went on their second four-run rally of the game beginning with back-to-back walks. A wild pitch allowed Feltes to slide in home and then back-to-back singles by Carrier and Snell gave UNCG the six-run lead and the eventual 9-3 victory.
The Spartans Sean Snell was 1-for-3 with two runs and a pair of RBI. Drew Gehringer tallied a game high four RBIs – three of which came off of his fourth inning triple. The Citadel's Chris Swauger went 3-for4 with an RBI and a run.
UNCG starter Wes McCall (1-3) nabbed his first win of the season after 6.1 innings of work . While on the mound, McCall struck out three and walked just one. The Bulldogs' Wes Wrenn (4-4) was handed the loss after giving up five of UNCG's total nine runs. He struck out just one while walking four.
UNCG and The Citadel face-off once again on Sunday at 2pm at Riley Park for the weekend finale. The Spartans will remain at home all next week as they host Duke on Tuesday and NC State on Wednesday followed by a three-game weekend conference series with the league-leading Elon Phoenix.
For news about UNCG baseball, complete season schedule, and any other information regarding Spartan athletics log onto www.UNCGSpartans.com.
# # UNCG # #
UNC Greensboro 9, The Citadel 3 (Apr 19, 2008 at Charleston, SC)
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UNC Greensboro...... 000 401 004 - 9 10 1 (24-13, 10-4 SoCon)
The Citadel......... 011 000 100 - 3 11 0 (22-17, 10-7 SoCon)
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Pitchers: UNC Greensboro - Wes McCall; Blake Hassebrock(7); Rob Gilliam(9). The Citadel -
Wes Wrenn; Chris Boyce(8).
Win-Wes McCall(1-3) Loss-Wes Wrenn(4-4) T-2:54 A-898
HR CIT - Chris Swauger.
