GREENSBORO, N.C. - Kyle Behrendt hit a triple to the gap in left center in the top of the eighth inning to complete the cycle and Wofford scored 11 runs in the final three innings as UNC Greensboro fell to the Terriers, 17-9, on Saturday afternoon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Wofford improved to 12-26 on the year and 5-12 in Southern Conference action, while the Spartans fell to 17-22 overall and 4-15 in league play.
Terrier reliever Pete Noordsy picked up the win after allowing no runs and just two hits in 1 2/3 innings. UNCG starter Greg Smith was credited with the loss after giving up four runs on six hits in 2 2/3 innings of work.
Corey Overholtzer led the Spartans at the plate as he went 2-4 with five RBI and a run scored, while Kris Richards had a 3-5 performance with an RBI and run scored.
Behrendt shined for the Terriers as he went 5-5 with two RBI and five runs scored. James Foster had a nice day as well by going 4-5 with three RBI and three runs scored and Mac Doyle chipped in a pair of hits and five RBI.
The game was very close in the early going as the two teams traded runs. The Terriers struck first in the top of the first inning as Foster led off the game with a single to center field. He advanced to third on a single by Behrendt and then as Behrendt stole second, Foster broke for home to pull off the double steal and put Wofford on the board. Behrendt scored later in the inning on a single by Landon Bennett.
Wofford went ahead 3-0 in the top of the second as Matt Moore hit a solo home run to left field.
The Spartans responded though with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second to cut into the Terrier lead. Ray Quinones and Zach Leach led off the inning with a pair of walks before Richards loaded the bases with a bunt single. Quinones then scored on a sacrifice fly to center field and Leach did the same two batters later to make it a 3-2 ballgame.
Behrendt then led off the third inning with a double to center field before advancing over to third base on a wild pitch. Doyle then hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Behrendt and put Wofford ahead, 4-2.
UNCG got that run back in the bottom half of the third though as Ed Jayjack and Quinones got things going by drawing back-to-back leadoff walks. They moved over to second and third on a sacrifice bunt before Jayjack scored on a groundout to pull the Spartans within 4-3.
That was as close as UNCG would get the rest of the afternoon as the Terriers put up two more runs in the top of the fourth to make it 6-3 on a sacrifice bunt by Alex Lee and an RBI single by Behrendt.
The score stayed that way until the seventh inning when Wofford exploded for five runs. Behrendt once again was behind the Terrier attack as he led off the inning with a solo home run to right center. The Terriers added another run on a sacrifice fly before Foster hit a double down the left field line with the bases loaded to score three more runs as they extended their lead to 11-3.
With only a triple keeping him away from the cycle, Behrendt led off the top of the eighth with a triple to the gap in left center to complete the cycle. He then scored on a groundout by Doyle to make it 12-3.
The Spartans added a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth to make it 12-5 as Chris Barker scored on a balk and Overholtzer hit a double down the left field line to score Cody Walker.
The Terriers once again struck for a five runs as they pushed their lead to 17-5 in the top of the ninth, highlighted by a three-run triple by Doyle.
UNCG continued to fight though as back-to-back singles by Richards and Barker put two runners on before Eric Brindle loaded the bases by reaching on an error. Overholtzer then took an 0-1 pitch over the wall in right center for a grand slam and make the final score, 17-9.
The two teams will meet for the rubber game on Sunday at 1p.m.
AGATE
Wofford 17, UNC Greensboro 9
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Wofford............. 211 200 515 - 17 15 2 (12-26, 5-12)
UNC Greensboro...... 021 000 024 - 9 11 2 (17-22, 4-15)
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Pitchers: Wofford - J.D. Osborne; Pete Noordsy(3); Ryan Traylor(5); Cash Collins(6); Bobby Streisel(7); Anthony Rowland(8) and David Roney. UNC Greensboro - Greg Smith; Wes McBride(3); Zach Furl(4); Tyler Hollstegge(5); Alex Shelton(7); Kris Richards(9) and Zach Leach.
Win-Pete Noordsy (1-4) Loss-Greg Smith (4-2) T-3:51 A-268
HR WOF - Kyle Behrendt; Matt Moore.
HR UNCG - Corey Overholtzer.
Weather: 72 and sunny, Wind SE at 7 mph
Traylor faced 1 batter in the 6th.
Shelton faced 2 batters in the 9th.
- UNCG -
