GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth for a 6-5 come-from-behind victory over Elon that clinched the weekend series for the Spartans on Sunday afternoon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
With the Spartans (16-10, 8-4 Southern Conference) trailing 5-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth, pinch hitter John Hein flared a singled to left field to get things started. Pinch hitter Zach Leach followed with a single up the middle before a walk by Drew Gehringer loaded the bases.
Chris Barker then stepped to the plate and took a 1-0 pitch into the left field corner for a double that scored Hein and Leach to tie the game at five. Bobby Martin then hit a chopper up the middle that was misplayed by the pitcher to load the bases once again. The first pitch to Trevor Edwards was wild in the dirt and got away from the Phoenix (18-11, 9-3 SoCon) catcher to allow Gehringer to score from third and give UNCG the dramatic 6-5 victory.
Tyler Hollstegge picked up his third win of the season after pitching a hitless ninth inning and striking out two batters. Phoenix closer Mitch Conner was credited with the loss after give up three runs on three hits without recording an out in the ninth.
Chris Barker helped lead the Spartan offense as he went 2-5 with a pair of RBI, while Thomas Troelstrup also had two RBI.
Niko Fraser and Alex Swim each went 2-4 with an RBI and run scored for Elon, while Grant McCoury came off the bench to go 1-2 with an RBI and run scored.
Elon took the early lead with a run in the top of the first as Swim singled up the middle with two outs. After a walk moved Swim to second, Ryan Kinsella delivered a single to left field to score Swim.
The Spartans took the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth in what started a seesaw battle midway through the game. Edwards was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a single by Eric Brindle. Troelstrup then stepped up and belted a double to left center to score both runners and give UNCG a 2-1 lead.
Elon answered right back in the top of the fifth inning when Fraser and Swim hit back-to-back RBI triples to retake the lead at 3-2.
In the home half of the fifth, Bobby Martin laid down a safety squeeze that scored Cambric Moye from third and tied the game a three.
In the next half inning, Elon was able to retake the lead on back-to-back solo home runs to left field. McCoury was the first as he hit a home run just over the wall on the ninth pitch of his at-bat. Garrett Koster followed with a solo home run of his own to put the Phoenix back in front, 5-3.
The score would stay that way until UNCG's come-from-behind heroics in the ninth inning.
The Spartans will face Duke on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
AGATE
UNCG 6, Elon 5
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Elon................ 100 022 000 - 5 8 2 (18-11, 9-3)
UNCG................ 000 210 003 - 6 9 0 (16-10, 8-4)
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Pitchers: Elon - Jared Kernodle; Dylan Clark(5); John Brebbia(8); Mitch Conner(9) and Alex Swim. UNCG - Colby Hyatt; Jonathan Jones(6); Dylan Hathcock(7); Greg Smith(8); Tyler Hollstegge(9) and Cambric Moye.
Win-Tyler Hollstegge(3-1) Loss-Mitch Conner(1-2) T-2:43 A-345
HR ELON - Grant McCoury; Garrett Koster.
Weather: 63 and sunny
Hathcock faced 1 batter in the 8th.
Clark faced 1 batter in the 8th.
Conner faced 5 batters in the 9th.
- UNCG -
