GREENSBORO, NC UNC Greensboro fell behind 7-0 early and Wes Wrenn pitched 7 1/3 innings for the Bulldogs as the Spartans fell to The Citadel, 10-4, on Friday evening at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Wrenn picked up his sixth win of the season for the Bulldogs (22-14, 10-6 SoCon) after allowing just four hits and striking out eight on the night. Bryan Altman went 3-6 at the plate for The Citadel and drove in two runs, including a home run in the second inning.
UNCG starter Greg Martin was credited with the loss for the Spartans (12-19, 2-12 SoCon) after giving up five runs in 1 2/3 innings of work. Freshman Trevor Edwards paced the Spartans at the plate, going 2-3 with two RBI and a run scored.
The Bulldogs struck early as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top half of the first. Nick Orvin led off the game with a walk and Altman followed with a double to left field to move Orvin to third. Sonny Meade then hit a single through the left side to score Orvin and make the score 1-0. Richard Jones then hit into a fielder's choice, which scored Orvin from third. Jones later scored in the inning on Chris McGuiness' single to right field to put the Bulldogs ahead, 3-0.
The Citadel added two more runs in the second inning when Altman hit his fifth home run of the season to left center to give the visitors a 5-0 lead.
The Bulldogs added one more in the third and another in the fourth as they extended their lead to 7-0.
Spartan reliever Blake Hassebrock was a bright spot for UNCG after he pitched a career-high 6 1/3 innings of relief while striking out a career-high eight batters and allowing just one earned run in relief of Martin.
The Spartans narrowed the Bulldog lead to 7-2 in the eighth inning thanks to some timely hitting. With one down, Kris Richards singled to center before Raymond Frias walked to move Richards to second. That was it for Wrenn as Chris Boyce came into relieve him. After recording a strikeout, Pedro Leon hit a double to the wall in left center to score Richards and Frias.
The Citadel responded with three more runs in the top of the ninth to extend their lead to 10-2 before Edwards hit his third home run of the season over the scoreboard in right field to make the score 10-4.
The Spartans and the Bulldogs will meet on Saturday for the second game of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
AGATE
The Citadel 10, UNC Greensboro 4
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The Citadel.............. 321 100 003 - 10 16 1 (22-14)
UNC Greensboro......000 000 022 - 4 7 2 (12-19)
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Pitchers: UNC Greensboro Greg Martin, Blake Hassebrock, Alex Shelton, Mark Peterson. The Citadel Wes Wrenn, Chris Boyce.
Win- Wes Wrenn (6-1) Loss- Greg Martin (1-6) T-3:01 A-246
HR: UNC Greensboro Trevor Edwards (3); The Citadel: Bryan Altman (5)
- UNCG -
