Box Score GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG Baseball used a five-run eighth inning to defeat the Georgetown Hoyas on Friday afternoon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. The Spartans and Hoyas battled all day before a UNCG put the game away in the eighth. The Spartans improve to 17-6 on the season, while Georgetown falls to 11-12.
“That was a very interesting game.” Head Coach Link Jarrett said, “That was a well-pitched, well-played game. In the eighth inning we got to (Simon) Mathews and our at bats continued to get better. We were able to string some together and put up a big number. That was a game where they had control late, but our defense was sound. We ran some balls down in the outfield, Jake (Kusz) did a great job managing the strike zone and blocking pitches that had to be blocked. That's a good come-from-behind win when things didn't seem like they were gelling for us late in the game.”
Eight of nine starters earned at least one base hit in the game, led by L.J. Kalawaia's (Wailuku, Hawai'i/Ohlone College) 2-for-3 performance with two runs scored and two RBI. Dillon Stewart (Dunn, N.C./Brunswick CC) finished with a home run, and a triple to go with two RBI and two runs scored.
Ryne Sigmon (Danville, N.C./Danville) finished with two hits, a triple included with an RBI and a run scored. Ben Spitznagel (Cincinnati, Ohio/Wabash Valley CC) had a pair of hits with a run scored. Collin Woody (Tampa, Fla./College of Central Florida) finished with one hit in the game, while driving in a pair of runs.
Andrew Moritz (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) stretched his reached-base streak to 19 after picking up one hit and scoring a pair of runs. Jake Kusz (Durham, N.C./Riverside) finished with a single and an RBI, while Michael Goss (Cartersville, Ga./Chattanooga St. CC) finished with a pair of hits in his first game action since Mar. 12th.
Bryce Hensley (Asheville, N.C./Catawba Valley CC) started and went 6.0 innings, surrendering three hits and striking out one hitter. Andrew Wantz (Holly Springs, N.C./Holly Springs) worked in his second-straight game, logging one inning, allowing two hits and one run. Chad Sykes (Creedmoor, N.C./Voyager Academy) (2-1) earned the win, throwing the final 2.0 innings, without allowing a hit and striking out two.
UNCG took the lead in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, Moritz tripled to left field and scored on a sacrifice fly from Kalawaia.
The Hoyas were able to tie the game up at one in the top of the fourth. With a runner on third, Chase Bushor legged out an infield hit to tie the game up 1-1.
The Spartans answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame. Kalawaia tripled to left center and scored on a sacrifice fly from Woody to regain the lead.
Georgetown tied and eventually took the lead, scoring solo runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.
After a solo home run from Stewart in the seventh, UNCG used a five-run eighth to regain the lead and take the game. Kalawaia, Woody, Stewart, Sigmon and Kusz all had RBI hits in the inning.
The Spartans return to action on Saturday, Mar. 26th as they host the Hoyas for the final game of the three game series at 1:00 p.m. at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
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