BOX SCORE (PDF)
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The 13th and final hit for the UNCG baseball team Friday night proved lucky as junior catcher Cambric Moye roped a single to right field with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to propel the Spartans to a 5-4 Southern Conference victory over No. 22 Georgia Southern at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
UNCG (13-13, 2-6) snapped the Eagles' eight-game winning streak and dealt the nationally-ranked GSU (18-8, 9-2) side just its second loss in league play. The Spartans also picked up their second victory over a ranked squad this season having previously defeated then No. 16 NC State in Raleigh.
Moye ended the evening 3-for-5 at the dish with his lone RBI proving to be the game winner. Leadoff batter and senior outfielder Christian Wolfe had a stellar outing as he was 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored.
On the bump, senior LHP Corey Taylor was solid in his third start of the season as he hurled 6.1 innings, scattering five hits, giving up four runs and striking out a career-high 10 batters. Rookie RHP Ryan Clark improved to 2-0 on the season as he threw two perfect innings and fanned a pair of Eagles.
After Taylor struck out the first two batters in the top of the first, Georgia Southern produced back-to-back doubles by Chase Griffin and T.D. Davis to grab a 1-0 advantage.
Taylor settled down after the first frame and the Blue and Gold would tie the contest in the bottom of the third. With two outs, Wolfe singled to right field before redshirt sophomore infielder Ray Crawford came through with a double to right field which plated Wolfe.
After Georgia Southern took the lead back with a RBI single by Tyler Avera in the top of the fifth inning, UNCG struck for three runs in the bottom of the frame to take a 4-2 advantage. Spina poked an infield single to the pitcher to begin the inning before redshirt freshman infielder Nin Marrero doubled to right center to score Spina. Wolfe then followed with a moon shot over the right field fence – his third home run of the season.
Taylor ran into trouble in the seventh as Robbie Dodds doubled to lead off. He then walked Arthur Owens to put runners on first and second with no outs. Sophomore RHP Tyler Frazier came on to relieve Taylor and allowed a RBI single to Avera before unleashing a wild pitch which plated Owens and knotted the score at four. Frazier then issued a free pass to Ben Morgan with two outs but struck out Griffin to escape the inning and limit further damage.
The Spartans had a great chance to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth. Moye singled with one away before sophomore outfielder Eric Kalbfleisch looped a single to left field to put runners on first and second. After a strikeout by senior outfielder Zach Leach, Spina singled through the right side and Moye attempted to score from second. However, he was gunned down at the plate on a close play as Dodds' throw was right on target.
Clark worked a quick top of the ninth, inducing two groundouts and striking out Kyle Streicher to send the game to the bottom of the stanza still tied.
Senior infielder Lloyd Enzor struck out to lead off the bottom of the ninth, but he was able to reach first safely as Eagle reliever Justin Hess uncorked a wild pitch which reached the backstop. Enzor was replaced by sophomore Nick Chapman on the bases and Chapman advanced to second on a textbook sacrifice bunt by Marrero. Wolfe was intentionally walked before Crawford struck out swinging. Edwards was also intentionally walked to load the bases for Moye. He would loop a 1-1 pitch to right field that landed a few feet inside the line and Chapman scored to seal the walkoff win.
With the league series now even, UNCG and Georgia Southern will play the rubber game Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
- UNCG -
